Princess and the Please
by Keith Shaw
Summary: A mission to rescue a kidnapped Princess Ardala turns into a race against time and Emperor Draco in an effort to locate a hidden ultimate weapon. But is Ardala really working with Buck or her father the emperor?
1. Chapter 1

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Princess and the Please

The year is 1987 and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes. In a freak mishap Ranger III and its pilot Captain William "Buck" Rogers are blown out of orbit into a trajectory which freezes his life support systems and returns Buck Rogers to Earth... five hundred years later……………………..

Chapter 1

"Contact"

It was well after midnight before the fighter finally rolled to a stop on the cold metallic floor of the hangar. The hatch popped open and slowly, tiredly, the muscular man climbed out of the cockpit. He looked across the hangar to see a beautiful brunette in a tight, form-fitting flight suit approaching him. She smiled at him broadly and waved an excited hand. He smiled weakly in return as he half jumped, half fell to the floor.

"Welcome home, Buck," she said cheerfully.

He simply nodded. "Thanks, Wilma."

She gave him a quick hug. "So how was your trip back?"

He took a deep breath, happy to be away from the stale, recycled air from his fighter's cockpit. Slowly he started for the exit. "I'll be glad to sleep in my own bed tonight."

She nodded knowingly. She knew what it was like to be away on missions for nearly a week at a time. She rested a hand on his arm. "Were you successful in securing safe passage to Bethay?"

Buck shook his head up and down once. "Let's just say the pirates in that sector won't be bothering our shipping lanes anymore," he replied with a weak gleam in his eye.

Suddenly a mechanical voice sounded behind them. "Beep-be-de-de-beep. Wait for me, Buck!"  
Buck stopped, turned around, and snapped his fingers. "Twiki!"

"Don't leave me here, Buck!"

Colonel Deering grinned broadly. "You really are tired!" she teased.

Buck quickly went back to his ship to help the small ambuquad out of the fighter's back seat. "Sorry, old buddy," he apologized. "I guess lack of sleep is making me forget things."

He set him gently onto the floor of the hangar. "Well if you hadn't stopped-"

Buck tapped the ambuquad gently but firmly on the head. "Shut up, Twiki," he said in a low hush.

"What was that?" Wilma asked as she approached them.

Buck shrugged his shoulders. "What was what?"  
"Twiki said you had to stop somewhere?"  
"Huh? Oh, right. He said we had enough fuel to get back home but I didn't want to take any chances. I had to stop on Bethay to refuel and recharge my batteries. I didn't want to run out of gas half way home."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: You recharged your batteries, alright," Twiki muttered.

Wilma looked at the both of them dubiously for only an instant before nodding. "Oh. Good thinking. There's not much between here and Bethay but open space."

Buck nodded in agreement, then started once more for the exit at the other end of the hangar. Wilma quickly turned to walk at his side while Twiki followed noisily behind them. "Doctor Huar will be glad to know you're back," Wilma said. "I'll let him know your mission was a success. You should just go back home and get some well deserved rest."

"Thanks, Wilma. I'll come down to his office in the morning for debriefing."

They reached the door and exited into a long corridor that extended in both directions for as far as the eye could see. Wilma smiled at Buck and put her hand gently on his shoulder. "Go get some sleep," she ordered. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Buck grinned reassuringly. "G'night, Wilma."

Colonel Deering turned and quickly started down the corridor. Buck took a quick glance at the small quad now beside him. "Come on, Twiki. Let's go."

"Right behind you, Buck."

They both turned and started down the corridor in the opposite direction. They walked for nearly thirty minutes through a maze of corridors and lifts before finally stopping in front of a particular door. Buck punched the combination code into the panel lock beside the door and waited for the door to slide open quickly. Slowly he entered the apartment followed by Twiki. Without even turning on the light, Buck began to remove his flight jacket.

Suddenly a strange sensation struck him and overwhelmed his entire being. He stopped so suddenly that Twiki ran right into his back. The small ambuquad stopped and took a quick step backwards.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what is it, Buck?"

Buck's hand immediately reached for his pistol. "There's somebody in here," he announced surely.

"Very good, Captain Rogers," answered a deep voice from the darkness. "I'm glad to see your senses are as sharp as ever."

Buck cocked his head slightly. Somewhere he had heard that voice before… but that fact was not reassuring. If he hadn't been so tired…

"Computer: lights!" he called loudly.

Instantly the entire apartment basked in bright lights emanating from several sources on the walls and ceiling. Buck's eyes quickly scanned the room until they found the intruder. A man dressed solely in black stood in the farthest corner possible away from the front door to the apartment. His hands lay at his sides, palms facing away from him.

"You do not need your weapon, Captain Rogers. I am completely unarmed."

Buck continued to stare at the man at the end of his aimed weapon. He was so tired that it took several blinks of his eyes for them to focus properly and then recognize the man standing before him.

"Kane?" he asked incredulously. "What are you doing here? How did you get into my apartment? Twiki, call security."

The man quickly held out his hand in protest. "Please, Captain Rogers. Give me a minute to explain."

Buck placed his hand on Twiki's shoulder. "Okay, Kane. I'll give you a minute. This better be good. Where's the princess?"  
Kane lowered his head slightly. "She is precisely the reason I am here."

Buck rolled his eyes in frustration. "I kind of figured that. What does she want with me this time? Whatever it is, you can tell her I'm not interested."

Kane shook his head and held out his hands. "I can't do that."

"Sure you can."

Again he shook his head. "Captain Rogers: you are the last person I ever expected to be saying this to… but… I need your help."

Buck lowered his pistol slightly. "Your minute is almost up."

Kane sighed deeply. "Believe me when I tell you that this is not easy for me to say. I need your help to find Princess Ardala."

Buck cocked his head to one side. "Huh?"

Kane took a deep breath and held it for a long moment before finally releasing it slowly. "Princess Ardala has been kidnapped. I need your help to find her."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Proposition"

Buck broke into laughter for a long minute. Kane simply stood there patiently waiting for him to stop. Finally Buck regained his composure and shook his head.

"Sorry," he grinned as he took a deep breath. "So Ardala's been kidnapped, huh? I don't see how that concerns me."

Kane sighed heavily. "Yes, the princess has been kidnapped. And I must find her before her father the emperor finds out she's missing."

Buck shrugged. "I don't see how that concerns me," he repeated.

Kane paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Captain Rogers, I came to you because you are perhaps the best man in the galaxy suited for a job like this."

Buck held up his forefinger to stop the man from talking. He then took a couple side steps to the small square table beside the wall. He slowly pulled out a chair and sat down. "You can stop right there, Kane. In case you have forgotten, I don't work for you or the Draconian Empire. And I am not a mercenary for hire. I work for the Earth Directorate. Why don't you get one of you subordinates to find her?"

"The Princess's kidnapping has not been made known publicly yet," Kane explained. "If Emperor Draco finds out his first daughter and heir to his throne has been kidnapped, I would be publicly executed for failing to protect her since I am her chief of security."

"Doesn't he have twenty-nine other daughters that can take over?"

One corner of Kane's lip upturned. "Actually he has thirty-one now. He has had two more daughters since last we met."

Buck nodded in approval. "The old man gets around!"  
Kane smirked wanly. "Captain Rogers, let me be frank with you."

"You can be whoever you want," Buck muttered almost inaudibly. "But make it quick. I haven't had any sleep in almost three days and I am extremely tired."

"Princess Ardala is not exactly competent when it comes to military matters."

"You don't say?" Buck replied sarcastically.

"But believe it or not she has been the staunchest defender of Earth of anyone in the Draconian Realm."

Buck's eyes widened. "Huh? Come again?"  
Kane nodded once. "All of Emperor Draco's military advisors have devised and advocated numerous plans of the conquest of Earth. Princess Ardala has been the only person bold enough to counter these plans and prevent them from coming to fruition. In fact she has used her position as future empress to continually defuse these plans of conquest."

"Really?"

"I believe her feelings for you to be the major reason she continues to defend Earth against her father. I don't know if you know it or not but I am not Draconian. I am actually from Earth, in fact I was born right here in New Chicago. I joined the Directorate when I was eighteen and my first assignment was as ambassador to Draco. So believe it or not I, too, would be disappointed to see Earth become a minor part of the Draconian Realm. I fear if Princess Ardala is killed, her next sister Astoria would not only allow the conquest of Earth but encourage it. So essentially the rescue of Princess Ardala is ultimately in your best interest and in the best interest of Earth."

Buck leaned back in the chair and allowed his head to fall back slightly. His eyes closed and he shook his head. "I'm going to regret asking this: so what do you want with me?"

Kane took several steps forward towards the table. "I know we've had our differences in the past. But I must admit that I have the utmost respect for you. You know how to get results. If there is anyone in the galaxy who can rescue the princess, it's you. I can't trust one of my subordinates with this task. As of right now I am the only person who knows of Ardala's absence. If I use one of my subordinates, they would not hesitate to let the emperor know. Draconians are notorious for being, how shall I say it, not loyal to their commanders if they think they can move ahead of them. And the fact that I am Terran and not Draconian… and I am Princess Ardala's chief of security… I would not be able to explain my position to Emperor Draco before being executed. And I hate to say it but without mine and Princess Ardala's influences, Earth would not stand a chance against the Draconian Empire."

"And you want me to rescue the princess to save your butt."

Kane nodded once. "Not only my butt is on the line here. The butts of the entire planet of Earth could be on the line. You will be given all the support you need, including any and all resources necessary to find and rescue her. And believe me, my position as chief of security, although tenuous if this news becomes public, allows me to allocate resources at my sole discretion. You will not want for anything you need."

Buck thought for a long, silent moment. Finally he opened his eyes to look up at the man dressed all in black. "In other words you're giving me an offer I can't refuse?"

Kane shrugged. "I can not force you to do this. All I can do is to ask you, plead if I must. Please help us."

Buck glanced at the ambuquad out of the corner of his eye. "What do you think, Twiki?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I think he's full of it."

Buck smiled at the droid's candor. He turned to Kane and shrugged. "Sorry, Kane. I must concur with my partner here. I can't do it."

"May I ask why not?"

"It sounds too dangerous. If I rescue the princess, she will be overly grateful and try to make me her consort again. And I was never cut out for the 'good' life royalty brings."

"Will you do it as a favor?"

Again Buck laughed. "A favor for you? Tempting… but no." Buck stood up and waved his gun slightly. "Now it's late and I have a date… with my bed."

He slowly motioned for Kane to move toward the door. "Captain Rogers, please reconsider."

Buck shook his head. "Sorry but your time's up."

Reluctantly Kane headed for the door. He turned to say something but Buck waved the gun at him and shook his head. Kane continued to walk until he reached the corridor. He turned again.

"Please Captain Rogers… think about this. Time is of the essence. If Princess Ardala dies, Earth will undoubtedly fall to Draco."

"Good night, Kane," Buck said as the door closed silently.

Buck turned at last to face the small ambuquad. "What do you think about that?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what a twerp."

Buck grinned slightly as he nodded. "I'm going to bed. Hold my calls."

"Sweet dreams, Buck."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The incessant noise of buzzing bees sounded throughout Buck's weary brain. Slowly his senses returned to him. Reluctantly he opened his eyes and turned his head to see a short, silvery figure looking at him.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep."

"Morning, Twiki," he mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: two o'clock."

Once again the buzz sounded and Buck finally realized it was the front door and not the droid. He rolled his eyes and let his head fall back onto the pillow. "Two? I just laid down half an hour ago? Go answer the door and tell them to go away. If it's Kane again…"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: it's two o'clock in the afternoon, Buck!"

Buck's eyes widened as he cocked his head to stare at the ambuquad. "Really?"

The buzz sounded again. He swung his legs off the bed. "I'm coming," he hollered toward the door.

He rushed to the door as quickly as he could. He tapped a button on the panel beside the door. A familiar face appeared on the tiny monitor imbedded into the panel. He winced visibly as he tapped another button to open the door.

"Doctor Huer! I'm sorry; I was supposed to come down to your office this morning, wasn't I?"

The older man smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about that, Buck," he said with a smile on his face. "I know how tired you were. Colonel Deering has already informed me of the success of your mission to Bethay. But that's not why I'm here."

A look of bewilderment crossed Buck's face. "Then why _are_ you here?"

The older man rubbed his chin. "A situation has arisen which may affect the sovereignty of Earth."

Buck closed his eyes for a brief moment. "Does this have anything to do with Princess Ardala?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why yes it does."

Buck raised his left hand to rub the leftover sleep from his eyes. "Don't tell me you actually fell for Kane's line of bull…"

Doctor Huer turned his head slightly and gazed down the corridor. Buck's eyes followed and widened as a man dressed in a black uniform stepped into his view. His eyes rolled back and his head lowered slightly. Kane smirked knowingly at Buck and Doctor Huer.

"Good morning, Captain Rogers."

Buck swore silently to himself.

"May we come in," Huer asked.

Buck looked up sheepishly. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry! Come in."

He stepped aside to allow the two men to enter the apartment. Buck took one step into the corridor and quickly looked up and down the hall to make sure no one else was there. Satisfied, he re-entered the room and the door closed almost silently behind him. He motioned the two visitors toward the couch while he took the chair he had used the night before. Buck glanced at Kane out of the corner of his eye.

"So you went over my head," he muttered.

Kane shook his head. "No, not at all. I simply made a formal request with the leader of the Directorate."

"And you believe Ardala is actually on our side?" Buck asked the older man.

Doctor Huer shrugged one shoulder and nodded. "It would explain why the Draconians have been awfully cooperative with us lately. And they have been pretty much leaving us alone."

Buck folded his arms, crossed his legs, and leaned back in his chair. "Okay, Doc. What do you want me to do?"

Doctor Huer folded his hands. "Kane did come to me this morning with a request for your services. Under no circumstance am I going to order you to do this."

"But you are here for a reason," Buck finished.

Huer nodded. "At least consider Kane's plan. It could be in our best interest."

Buck sighed heavily. "Okay. Let's hear it."

Kane leaned forward. "As I stated earlier this morning, time is of the essence. If possible I would like to leave immediately and brief you on the way."

"On the way to where?"  
"The planet of Bertram."

"Why Bertram?"  
"Because that is where the Princess is being held."

Buck cocked his head and furrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute. If you know where she is, why do you need me?"

Kane paused for a moment and smirked slightly. "Because we are currently in 'negotiations' with the planet of Bertram. Princess Ardala was conducting the negotiations on the planet. When she failed to check in, I contacted the palace. Apparently her transport was attacked on the way back to the flagship. That was three days ago."

"So how do you know she's still on Bertram? Maybe she was transported off-world. That's what I would've done."

Kane shook his head. "That would have been impossible. We have several cruisers in orbit around Bertram. The planet is under constant surveillance. Any ship trying to enter or leave the planet would have been monitored."

"In other words you have the planet surrounded. You have it blockaded."

Kane winced slightly, hesitated before at last nodding. "Yes, that is one way you could put it."

"Nice way of 'negotiating,'" Buck stated matter of factly. "So I still don't know why you need me."

"I can not authorize any of my men to the surface. Apparently the negotiations with the princess did not go well."

Buck grinned as he imagined Ardala negotiating with anyone in power, but he did not say a word.

"The leaders of Bertram have closed their… hospitality to us," he said delicately.

"I wonder why," Buck muttered.

Doctor Huer shot a menacing glance toward Buck. "Bertram has long been known as a race of violent and secretive people. If the princess is indeed being held captive there, she could be in grave danger."

Buck shrugged once. "Have they made any demands?"

"Only that we leave orbit immediately," Kane replied. "We made it clear that we would not leave without the princess. They insist the kidnapping is the act of a small, resistance group within their parliament. They have promised to locate her and return her to us… but they want us to leave immediately to show 'good faith'."

Kane stopped for a moment. Buck watched the hesitation until he got impatient. He waved his hand. "And…?"

"We agreed to leave only after we sent an impartial agent to assist them in finding the princess."

Buck nodded. "And I am the 'impartial agent' you are sending in."

Kane smirked again. "I can think of no one else more capable of finding the princess than you. We want you to find the princess and then return her to the flagship."

"Nothing to it," Buck said sarcastically.

"This is entirely up to you, Buck," Doctor Huer stated.

Buck shrugged his shoulders, sighed. "Right." He sighed. "Okay. But I'm only doing this because you asked me, Doctor Huer." He glanced at Kane. "Give me a few minutes to take a shower and I'll meet you in the hangar by my fighter."

Doctor Huer shook his head.

Buck looked at him questioningly. "I won't?"

He shook his head. "You will be traveling with Kane in his shuttlecraft. Bertram is strictly off limits to Terrans. If you were to go there in an Earth fighter, you would be shot down immediately upon arrival."

"Oh, this is getting better and better," he muttered, frustrated. "Then how do I get to Bertram if Terrans aren't allowed there and Draconians aren't allowed there?"

"Don't worry, Captain Rogers. I have a plan for your safe arrival on Bertram."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better."

"Don't worry, Buck. Kane has given the entire plan to me and I approved its merit. I sincerely believe you will have no problems in successfully carrying it out."

Buck thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay. If you think it's safe."

"Oh, there's one more thing."

He rolled his eyes. "There always is."

Huer ignored Buck's comment. "This is an unofficial request and totally off the record. There can be no communication from this office to you; that includes Colonel Deering. If you happen to be captured or killed…"

Buck nodded. "I know, I know… the secretary will disavow any knowledge about me or the mission."

Doctor Huer furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Secretary?"

Buck shook his head and grinned wanly. "Never mind, Doc; a little before your time. Don't worry, I've got the general idea."

Huer and Kane stood. Doctor Huer stepped up to Buck and shook his hand. "Good luck, Buck. I hate to do this to you, especially considering you just got back from a dangerous mission. But I have the utmost faith in you and your innate abilities. I know you will be successful. And the princess should be grateful too."

Buck grinned wanly. "Yeah, I know. That's what I'm afraid of."

Huer smiled as he headed for the door. Kane nodded and half-bowed toward Buck. "Thank you, Captain Rogers for accepting. I'll meet you in the flight hangar in twenty minutes. I'll brief you on the rest of the mission on the way."

"Make it thirty minutes. I want to take a shower and pack before we leave."

"We?"

Buck patted the ambuquad on the head lightly. "Me and Twiki."

Kane looked at him dubiously. "You are going to take your quad?"

He nodded. "Yep. Twiki and I are a package deal."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: that's right, bub. We're a team."

Kane shrugged. "Very well. Oh, you may want to pack some warm clothes. Bertram is a very cold and icy world. A lot of snow."

Buck rolled his eyes again as the two men exited the apartment. "Oh, this keeps getting better and better," he muttered to no one in particular.


	4. Chapter 4

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Chapter 4

When Buck and Twiki entered the flight deck, they stopped for a moment to inspect the area. In the center of the hangar sat a larger than usual cargo shuttle with a different insignia painted on the side. Buck closed his eyes for a moment in quiet contemplation. Finally he looked down at his small companion and nodded once.

"Well Twiki, let's get this over with."

Before he could start walking, he heard a voice from behind him calling his name. He turned to see a Colonel Deering rushing down the corridor toward him.

"Come to see me off?" Buck asked with a smile.

She tried to return the gesture but failed miserably. She sighed heavily. "I don't like this," she said bluntly. "I think Doctor Huer is making a mistake."

Buck gently placed his hand on Wilma's shoulder. "Hey, I've done dozens of missions like this one. This is no different," he said, trying to reassure her.

"Yes, but on most of them I was there with you. And they didn't involve having to rescue a Draconian Princess."

Buck nodded knowingly. "I know what you mean. That's why I'm bringing my bodyguard along. Twiki can keep an eye on me to keep me out of trouble."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: That's a full time job right there," muttered the ambuquad.

Wilma merely nodded absently. "But I've got a bad feeling about this. I don't trust Kane."

Buck shook his head. "Neither do I. Or Ardala, for that matter. But something's definitely up or Kane wouldn't have come to all the trouble of coming here all by himself."

"I wish I was going too."

Again Buck shook his head. "Doctor Huer can't afford to get Earth officially involved. Don't worry, I'll be all right. I'll be back before you even know it. Just keep a candle in the window for me."

"Huh?"

Buck smirked. "Never mind. Don't worry. Have I ever let you down before?"

She shook her head. "No."

"There ya go. I'll see you soon. Come on, Twiki. We've got a date."

As she watched the two walk into the hangar, she lowered her eyes slightly. "No, you've never let me down before. But there is always a first for everything."

Quietly Buck and Twiki traversed the short distance to the shuttle. When they reached the bottom of the ramp leading into the ship's interior, Buck slowed to a halt. He called up into the ship. A moment passed before a shadowy figure stood in the doorway.

"Come in, Buck," Kane said curtly. "You can stow your bag anywhere around here. I've already obtained clearance for immediate liftoff."

After climbing up the ramp, Buck tossed his bag beside the door and followed Kane to the cockpit. Twiki also followed down the short passageway to the cockpit. Kane quickly took the pilot's seat while Buck sat beside him. Twiki stood quietly behind them. Buck watched intently at Kane's hands as they passed over the controls before him. Kane expertly maneuvered them into position in front of the launch tube and in seconds the ship was flying over the barren wastelands outside of New Chicago.

Buck looked out his window at the landscape passing rapidly below him. Strong feelings of pain and sorrow welled up deep within him. He watched the desert flying below him where once he could remember grass, rivers, farmlands, towns, and cities. He had flown from old Chicago to New York hundreds of times… but never in his wildest imagination could he foresee the death and destruction the desert below him attested to. Soon they passed over ancient ruins of a city that had once been situated on the confluence of three rivers, the names of which no one could remember… well, almost no one. He looked down expecting to see water, riverboats, paddlewheels. But the rivers remained silent; in fact the rivers weren't even rivers anymore. They were mere shadows of what they once were… mere trickles of what once was a mighty water system. His eyes averted to the point where the three rivers met. Massive ruins of a long gone stadium lay still. Buck closed his eyes. In his mind he could still see the games once played there… championships won… towels waving. Buck sighed deeply and forced himself to look away from the window.

He hated being a passenger. He'd flown this route hundreds of times since his re-awakening… but almost always he'd been the pilot. When you're piloting a ship, you don't have time to let your mind and eyes wander. You've got more important things to do like monitor the stabilizers, adjust the forward thrust, carefully monitoring the proper flight path to assure the right trajectory to leave Earth's defense shields. If the vector isn't perfect, death would come quickly if they hit the defense screens. Buck glanced at the small control panel in front of him and sighed again.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: What's wrong, Buck?" sounded a concerned voice behind him. "You're too quiet."

Buck turned his head slightly to look at his trusted companion. He tried to force a smile. "Just… watching the scenery," he replied hollowly.

At once the ambuquad understood. Once again the cockpit fell into a hushed silence. They traveled for several minutes before finally leaving the sanctity of Earth's atmosphere and defense screens. Once they were flying through the blackness of space, Buck's spirits began to normal. Kane veered the shuttle toward the nearby stargate.

"So what's this plan of yours?" Buck asked. "How am I supposed to get to Bertram if they won't let us land?"

Kane glanced at his passenger as if he'd forgotten he was there. "We're not going directly to Bertram. We need to make a quick stop somewhere else first."

Buck furrowed his eyes. "That sounds… cryptic. Okay, I'll bite. So where are we going?"

"B'Linta."

Buck cocked his head to one side. "B'Linta? Isn't that a little out of the way? That's way off in the-"

"Yes, I know where it is," Kane interrupted. "B'Linta is famous throughout the galaxy for its neutrality. They have never taken sides in a conflict. The plan is to go to B'Linta first and acquire an official Royal transport shuttle. You will then pass yourself off as a B'Lintan peace keeper and pilot the transport to Bertram. Once you land safely on Bertram, then you will be relatively free to search for the princess."

"So how do you plan to 'acquire' a Royal transport?"

Once again Kane flashed a quick glance at his passenger out of the corner of his eyes briefly before returning to his console. Buck noticed the slight wry grin coming from the corner of Kane's lip and immediately got the hint. Buck rolled his eyes, sighed heavily and turned to look out his view screen.

"Great plan. You want me to steal one. And Dr. Huer actually approved of this plan?"

Now it was Kane's turn to cock his head. "I didn't actually tell him that part of it."

Buck chuckled briefly in frustration. "No, of course not. Do you know what the B'Lintan patrols will do to me if I get caught trying to steal a Royal transport? They'll make me wish I had died five hundred years ago."

Kane merely nodded once. "Consider that as incentive not to get caught. Hold on… we're at the stargate."

Buck closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat. "This keeps getting better and better," he muttered.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep."

Buck turned to face Twiki. "What was that?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'll tell you later, Buck."


	5. Chapter 5

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Chapter 5

The shuttle remained almost quiet for the entire journey to B'Linta. The only sound to penetrate the cockpit was the constant whir of the engines. As they exited another stargate, a large sphere filled the view screen. Buck was just about to say something before a voice beat him.

"This is B'Linta Space Control. Please respond."

Kane tapped a button on his console. "This is Shuttle 327 of the Flagship Draconia; Commander Kane speaking. Request clearance to land and an approach vector."

"One moment please while we calculate."

Buck glanced over at Kane. "Is it a good idea to tell them you're Draconian?" he whispered.

Kane cocked his head to one side. "Why should I hide it? B'Linta is one hundred neutral. They don't care who lands here. Besides, they don't take lightly people who try to deceive them in any way."

Buck simply nodded.

"Shuttle 327: clearance has been granted on Pad 36. The vector is being transmitted to your navigation computer."

Kane tapped a button. "Vector received. Shuttle 327 out."

Once again the cockpit fell silent until the shuttle had touched down inside the hangar. When the shuttle rolled to a stop, Kane quickly unstrapped his belts. "Come on."

Buck followed and then Twiki. Just before he opened the ramp door, Kane stopped and turned to face Buck. "B'Linta has only two rules: no weapons and no fighting. Remember that."

He tapped a button on the mini console on the wall. The door opened and a ramp instantly began to descend to the floor. He made a 'you first' gesture to Buck and Twiki who slowly walked down the ramp to the hangar floor. Kane picked up the duffle bag lying beside the door and tossed it to Buck.

"Good luck, Captain Rogers. The life of the Princess may depend upon your success here."

He tapped another button and the ramp retracted back inside the interior of the ship. Buck stared at Kane for a moment. "Wait a minute; you're not coming with me?"

"You are on your own. I've been away from the Draconia far too long already. If I am away much longer, my subordinates will know something isn't right and it may compromise my situation as well as that of the princess. I have complete faith in you, Captain Rogers."

"I thought you had this great plan to acquire a transport."

Kane shrugged, shook his head once. "No. I leave that matter completely up to your skills. Good luck."

He hit a button and the door quickly closed. Frustrated, Buck slapped the side of the ship with an open palm.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what a twerp."

"You ain't whistlin' Dixie."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: so what do we do now, Buck?"

He took one last glare at the shuttle. Finally he slung his duff over his shoulder, looked around the hangar for a moment. "Go to the one place on any planet in any time period guaranteed to get some information."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: where's that?"  
Buck looked down at the droid and tapped him on the head. "The nearest bar."

Buck and Twiki had been in the bar for nearly six hours talking to everyone vainly in search of information. Weary and tired of talking, Buck slowly walked up to the counter and got the bartender's attention.

"One more for the road," he muttered.

The bartender looked at him questioningly for a moment before pouring him another drink. Buck turned to Twiki. "So now what, Little Buddy?"

Just then the door opened and two men in uniform walked in. One of them looked at the bartender and bellowed, "Tell Lach'et we're here."

The man behind the counter instantly dropped what he was doing and disappeared through a door behind him. He was gone for only a minute before he reappeared followed by a beautiful brunette. She quickly stepped from behind the counter and went to meet the two men in the far corner of the bar, as far away from everyone they could get. Buck turned to the barkeeper.

"Who are they?"

"Royal guard," he replied in a hushed tone.

"Really?" Buck's eyes lit up briefly for only a moment. He turned his head just far enough to see the proceedings out of the corner of his eye. Slowly he milked the drink in front of him. "Twiki, can you hear what they're saying?"

"They're talking about the woman's brother. Apparently he stole something from them and has since disappeared."

Buck nodded once in approval. "This could work out after all."

The conversation in the corner remained quiet for several minutes before the first guard reached for the woman gruffly. She slapped his arm.

"Get off me," she said loudly.

Buck quickly finished his drink. "Twiki, stay here."

He almost fell off his stool, and slowly ambled across the bar.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: here comes the cavalry," the droid said quietly.

The man reached for her again but this time Buck grabbed the offending arm before it could reach the woman. "I believe the lady said to leave her alone," Buck slurred.

"Who the hell are you? This doesn't concern you! This is a matter of state business! Unless you want to end up in jail-!"

"Does the state always harass its defenseless...( Buck glanced at the woman)…beautiful, unarmed citizens in the darkest corner of a sleazy bar?"

"The 'lady' and I are discussing business."

Buck hiccupped. "Well I have business with the lady too. And I've been waiting longer than you have. Isn't that right, Lach'et? I've got… news."

The man reached for his hip. Buck took one step toward the man and tripped. Buck's right hand grasped the man's left shoulder and the two fell to the floor with Buck on top. The guard hastily shoved Buck off.

"Get off me you drunk-" He stopped short when he realized his gun was no longer in its holster. Lach'et rushed to help the solder return to his feet. Meanwhile Buck fingered the pistol with his left hand.

"I suggest you leave the lady alone," he repeated quietly.

The guard glared at Buck for a long moment before taking a half step toward him. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Sir, not here," the other soldier whispered into his ear. "The captain is expecting us."

"But-"

"Look at him, Sir. He's drunk. He's not going anywhere. If he has business with the woman, it may be about her brother. We can leave and keep an eye on them both."

He took a long, deep breath before shrugging himself free. "Fine." He turned toward Buck who was still sitting on the floor. "Don't go too far, stranger. I'm not done with you yet."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Buck smirked.

He sat and watched the two men hastily leave the bar.

"You must be new around here," the woman said. "That was not a smart thing to do. They'll be back with a whole squad next time."

She turned and headed for the counter. Buck quickly scrambled to his feet to follow. "So what was that all about? What did your brother steal from them?"  
She stopped and whirled around. "How do you know my brother?"  
Buck shrugged. "I don't. I overheard a little bit of your argument."

"Oh." She turned back towards the bar.

"So can I buy you a drink?" he offered.

"Do you know how many times I've heard that line?"

Buck grinned. "Do you know how many times I've used that line?"  
The woman shook her head. "Maybe I should buy you a drink. It's the least I can do for a dead man."

"What do you mean?"

"When they come back, they'll kill you… and quite possibly me too. Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry. I was just trying to help."

"Well you didn't." She paused for a moment, placed her elbows on the counter. "You said you had some news for me? What is it?"

Buck sat down beside Twiki. "What would you say if I told you I lied about that?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're just full of surprises," she said sarcastically again as she headed for the door behind the counter. "If you know what's best, you'd better go and hide somewhere."

"I would if I had my ship with me," he muttered.

She stopped in her tracks, cocked her head, and turned around. She slowly stepped up to him, placed her elbows on the counter. "Y-you're a p-pilot?" she stammered.

Buck simply nodded once. The woman grasped his forearm tightly. "Maybe I can help you after all and you can help me."

"How? Do you have a ship?"  
"No, but I know where to find one."

Buck smirked. "So do I. There's a ton of them in the hangar. The problem is I can't get into any of them."

The woman reached inside a picked and pulled out a small, white, rectangular card. She held it up to Buck's eyes.

"What's that? A baseball card?"

"The keys to a Royal Transport Shuttle. I lifted it off the guard when I was helping him up."

Buck smiled broadly, tapped Twiki on the head. "Hey, what do you know. Things are finally starting to look up."

She pulled Buck's arm gently. "Come on, follow me."

"You have a back door?"

"Yes. It's in the back. Let's go!"

"But I thought you said you were gonna buy me a drink!"

She grabbed a bottle from underneath the counter. "I'll pour it when we're safe!"

"But what's the owner gonna say?"  
"I am the owner."

She disappeared through the door. Buck helped Twiki to get behind the counter.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Come on, Buck. It's closing time."

Buck grinned slightly. "Right behind you."


	6. Chapter 6

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Chapter 6

Buck followed the woman as she quickly maneuvered through the back streets of the darkening city toward the space port. At one point she stopped and turned to look at her two new found companions.

"You move pretty well for a drunk pilot!"

Buck winked at her. "Don't trust everything you see in a dark bar. I'm nowhere near being drunk. I made that royal guard think I was, though."

"You're lucky they didn't kill you right there on the spot."

"Actually they're the lucky ones they didn't try," he replied matter of factly. "Besides, they probably thought I had information about your brother. They're probably following us right now."

She shook her head. "No, not yet. They think they know where to find us. But they will be looking for us once they realize I have their shuttle key."

"Then let's not dilly dally around here," Buck said.

She cocked her head slightly, but didn't say anything. She simply turned around and continued toward the space port. When they reached the space station, they used the revolving door to enter the sparse lobby. Lach'et began to stroll casually through the lobby. Every now and then she would glance at Buck and then at one of the patrolling soldiers, shake her head, and continue walking. After the third or fourth time she did this, Buck finally tapped her on the shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"I need a royal escort to get into the hangar. They're not gonna just let us walk right in and steal one of their ships."

He nodded. "Yeah, but how-"

She stopped so suddenly Buck ran into her. She bobbed her head slightly toward one of the soldiers. "He looks about your size. Stay here until I give you a sign."

He nodded in understanding. He started to say something but she was already on the move. She walked across the lobby toward the unsuspecting soldier. Buck continued to walk slowly and tried to make it look like he wasn't watching her. She placed a hand on the man's arm and smiled. After a brief conversation, he led her to a nearby door. They quickly disappeared inside.

"So what do you think they're doing?" Buck asked slyly.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Not what he wants to be doing."

Moments later the door opened again. Lach'et motioned Buck to come over. Twiki stayed where he was as Buck quickly entered the small closet. The guard lay unconscious on the floor. Buck glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. "How-"

"No time. Help me get his clothes off!"

After a few difficult moments that were compounded by the smallness of the closet, Buck emerged in the guard's uniform. Lach'et followed and made sure the door closed tightly behind them. She waved toward the secure area leading to the hangar. Twiki had to rush to catch up.

"Now we can go," she announced softly.

Buck tugged at the chest of the uniform. "You're not a very good tailor," he muttered. "This guy is at least two sizes smaller than me."

"Oh buck it up! As soon as we get out of here you can take it off."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: hee, hee, hee."

"Shut up, Twiki," Buck said with a wry grin.

Casually they stepped up to the doorway leading to the interior hangar. The secure watchman looked up from his desk monitor. "Evening, sir," he said to Buck.

He looked up for several moments as if waiting for something. Instantly Buck realized what the watch man wanted just as he felt a slight tap to his back. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the key-card. He handed it to the watchman. The man took the card and inserted it into a slot beside his monitor. A moment later he handed it back.

"So where you headed?"

"Transporting the lady to Bertram," Buck answered quickly.

"Reason?""To aid the negotiations with Draconia. This lady is Princess Ardala's lead negotiator. She needs to get there before things get too ugly."

The man simply nodded and touched a hidden button underneath his desk. An audible 'click' sounded.

"Safe journey, sir," he said as he waved them toward the door.

Buck pushed open the door and held it for Lach'et and Twiki. Once inside the hangar, the door closed noisily. Buck's eyes widened as he surveyed the size of the hangar. Hundreds of ships were parked in neat, orderly rows stretching almost as far as his eyes could see. Lach'et placed her hand on Buck's shoulder.

"Very nice. I'm impressed!"

He simply nodded. "So how do we find which ship this key opens?"

She waved nonchalantly. "Just pick one. All these keys are the same." She pointed toward the end of the nearest line of ships. "How about that one? It's nearest the launch tube."

Buck nodded. Hurriedly they crossed the vast hangar to the shuttle at the far end. Buck inserted the key into a vertical slit on one of the ships. A door quickly opened and Buck shuttled everyone inside the ship. Upon entering the ship, he immediately headed for the cockpit and sat down in one of the two chairs.

"Are you sure you can fly this thing?" Lach'et asked.

"If it's got wings, I can fly it," Buck answered confidently.

He reached out for the controls… but there weren't any controls. He looked for a console but saw nothing but smooth metal in front of him. He cocked his head confusedly, looked up at the woman. She giggled slightly.

"Apparently you've never flown a B'Lintan transport."

He simply shook his head. Lach'et stepped up to Buck's chair and reached above his head toward the ceiling. Buck's eyes couldn't help but glance up. He tried not to stare as the woman tapped a depression in the ceiling. Instantly a helmet began descending onto Buck's head.

"Wh-what's going on?" he asked.

"You don't need any controls," she explained as she moved toward the second seat. "With the helmet in place all you have to do is think about what you want to do. If you want the engines to start, just think about the engines. If you want to bank right, just think of it. Whatever you think, the ship will do."

Buck began to smile until he heard Twiki behind him. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: you got the right man for the job."

Buck coughed slightly to disguise the smile he was fighting back. He looked over at the woman who was strapping herself into the seat. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded. "When you get used to the controls, the ship is almost intuitive. It will almost do what you want before you think about it. At least that's what I'm told."

"Wait a minute! You don't know for sure?""I'm not a pilot. All I know is what my brother's told me. You told me you were a pilot. Show me your pilot skills before I start doubting you."

Buck held up a finger. "Just one question before we go. Why are you helping me?"She shrugged. "Something tells me there's more to you than just some drunk pilot. Call it intuition or something but I believe you can help me."

"Help you what?"

"Help me find my brother. I know he's in terrible danger. I want you to help me find him before the royal guards do."

Buck rolled his eyes and head. "I knew it had to be something like that. Buck, rescue the princess. Buck, find my brother," he murmured almost inaudibly. "I need a new job." He glanced behind him at the droid. "Twiki, what did this century ever do without me?""Beep-be-de-de-beep: it just wasn't the same."

Lach'et cocked her head. "Huh?"

Buck smiled at her reassuringly and then nodded. "Nothing. Let's see what this ship will do. Keep that bottle handy, though. If we get out of here in one piece, I'm definitely gonna need that drink."


	7. Chapter 7

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Chapter 7

Buck took one last glance at Lach'et before at last settling into his seat. He let his head fall against the back of the chair, at least as far as he could with the helmet strapped to his head. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Slowly he released it.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered.

He concentrated on starting the engines. Before he knew it the sound of the engines reverberated throughout the cockpit. Buck opened his eyes and smiled.

"Hey, what d'ya know? It worked!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: You're the man, Buck!"

Lach'et furrowed her eyes as she turned her head. "Your ambuquad has a strange way of speaking."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I learned from the best, Sister!"Buck had to smile as he nodded once. "Yes he does. Okay, let's see if we can get this thing moving."

He concentrated on moving the large ship. Almost instantly the ship lifted into the air and slowly floated into the launch tube. Buck smiled to himself and nodded again. "Hey, I think I'm gettin' the hang of this. I just might have to take one of these back home with me!" Buck glanced over at his passenger. "Hang on to your hat."

"Huh?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Hold on."

The ship lurched forward so quickly that it pushed them into the deepest recesses of the seats. If not for Twiki's grip on the back of Buck's chair, he would have been sent flying toward the back of the shuttle. In what felt like only seconds they were flying through the dark night sky and only minutes later they were in the blackness of space. Buck chuckled.

"Now that's what I call a take off!"He thought of a radar detector and instantly a display of their immediate surroundings appeared on the view screen in front of him. After a quick examination, he adjusted the ship's heading.

"Stargate coming up in… three…two…one…now entering stargate."

Upon their exit, Buck lay in the proper course and looked at the calculations. He glanced at Lach'et. "Looks like it's gonna take about five hours to get there."

"Where are we going?"

"To Bertram."

Lach'et's eyes widened in disbelief. "But that's what you told the security watchman! Now they're going to come after us when they realize-"

Buck held up his hand. "Trust me. This isn't the first planet I've been forced to… leave hurriedly. The first rule of living on the run is not telling anyone the truth."

"But-""That's why I'm not afraid to break that rule. Think about it. Bertram will be the last place they look for us. Most escapees will tell you they're going one place and then go the farthest place they can find away from there. They'll think I lied to them so they're probably start looking light years away from us."

She thought for a moment then smiled. "I knew there was something about you I liked. I think I made the right decision in helping you."

Buck looked around his seat for a moment. "Hey, does this thing come with a cruise control?"

She cocked her head. "Cruise…what?"

"You know! Automatic--- oh, never mind. I think I found it."

Buck unclasped the helmet and moved it to the side.

"Are you sure that's safe?" she asked.

Buck nodded. "Yeah. It's on automatic pilot. Now if you want me to find your brother, I have a couple questions to ask you. Like, where was the last place you saw him, what did he steal, where might he have gone, you know… everything."

Lach'et took a deep sigh. "I'll tell you everything I know. The last time I saw him was six months ago. The last time I talked to him was about two weeks ago. He sent a package from some place called Remian Four."

Buck gave a low whistle. "That's a pretty rough place, or so I'm told."

Lach'et nodded. "He said that the B'Lintans were after him. He had to find somewhere safe."

"I don't know how safe Remian Four is. Why were they after him?"

She shrugged. "He didn't go into much detail. Pretty much all he asked was if I got the package he'd sent."

"What was in the package?"

She reached into her top and pulled out a small medallion. She handed it to Buck. He inspected it briefly before handing it back. "It looks like a plain necklace to me, like something you could buy in a souvenir shop. Could this be what the B'Lintans are after him for?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But I want to go to Remian Four to see if I can find him."

Buck shook his head once. "I don't know. What do you think, Twiki?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Remian Four is deep inside Draconian territory."

"Three fourths of the galaxy is Draconian territory," Lach'et argued.

"True," Buck nodded, "but there's two kinds of Draconian territory. There's the outer rim and the inner core. Remian Four is inside the inner core. In fact it's not too far from the Draconian home world. If you want to get there we'll need detailed flight plans, papers, clearance… the works."

"You can do that, right?"

He shook his head. "I don't have that kind of power."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: but we know someone who does."

Buck turned slowly to face the droid. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. "You're right! She could help us get there. After all, she'll owe me one."

"Who?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: it'll be the least she could do."

"Who?"

"The only problem is I'll be stuck having to play diplomat, or house, or whatever other game she wants to play until we get there."

"Who?""Beep-be-de-de-beep: I thought you liked playing games, Buck!"

Buck grinned sheepishly. "But you know I'll probably end up married to her again. I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of commitment."

"WHO?!""Beep-be-de-de-beep: there are worse people in the galaxy to be married to."

"Name one."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep."

"WHO?!" Lach'et almost screamed.

Buck sighed, turned to face her. "Princess Ardala of Draconia."

Lach'et's eyes widened. "P-Princess Ardala? The Princess Ardala? You mean… you… you actually know her?"Buck and Twiki exchanged glances. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: you could say that."

"But I thought-"

Buck nodded. "She's the reason I have to get to Bertram. Apparently she got herself into some kind of sticky wicket."

"S…sticky what?""She may have been kidnapped. I was… contacted to break in, rescue her, and break back out."

"Well that'd be great! If you rescue the princess, she'll be so grateful to you that she can help us find my brother!"

Buck sighed heavily, smirked wanly. "I know. That's what I'm afraid of. She gets… weird when she's grateful."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I think I'm gonna need that drink."

Buck chuckled slightly. "First things first. If I'm gonna break the princess out of whatever she got herself into, I'm gonna need a rest. I'm bushed. I feel like something the cat dragged in and the dog dragged back out."

Lach'et put a hand to the side of her head and tapped it a few times. Buck looked at her through narrowed eyes. "What are you doing?" he asked.

She simply shrugged. "I'm checking my universal translator. I think it's malfunctioning. For some reason I can only understand half of what you are saying."

Buck smiled broadly as he leaned back in his chair. "Don't worry about it, Lach'et. That's still more than most people."


	8. Chapter 8

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Princess and the Please

Chapter 8

Brilliant, multi-colored lights swirled around the inside of Buck's head rapidly. He basked silently in the hue for a moment before he felt his body jerk suddenly. He opened his eyes and looked around, still slightly disoriented.

"What just happened?" he asked, slowly remembering where he was.

"We just exited the stargate," Lach'et explained.

Buck breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. For a minute there I thought I was in some bad rerun of Laugh In."

Lach'et started to say something but Buck held up his hand before she could. "Don't ask," he said, shaking his head. "This century's not ready for Ruth Buzzi." He took a quick glance out the view screen before returning his gaze to Lach'et. "It's not ready for Gilda Radner, either." He turned back to the front of the ship. Slowly he turned and took one long, last look at his confused passenger. "It's definitely not ready for Benny Hill, either! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah… don't ask. Trust me."

Buck strapped the helmet onto his head and brought up a display screen. He narrowed his eyes. "I don't see the Draconia in orbit. Didn't Kane say they weren't going to leave without Ardala?"

"Maybe they're on the other side of the planet," Lach'et offered.

Buck shrugged. Just then three red blips appeared on the display. Buck looked at them and shook his head. "Looks like we've got company," he announced.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: here comes the welcome wagon."

Just then a deep mechanical voice sounded throughout the cockpit. "Unidentified ship: you are approaching Bertram air space. Immediately identify yourself or you will be destroyed."

Buck frowned wanly. "This is B'Lintan Shuttle 1987. I've been contracted by my government on behalf of Commander Kane of the Flagship Draconia to assist in the negotiations between your two worlds."

"We need no assistance in our 'negotiations'. The Flagship Draconia has left this world, as you will also immediately if you wish to remain alive."

Buck sighed. "There's nothing more I would love to do. I, uh, left some things I could be doing. But I was not given time to properly prepare for this mission. My government didn't even give me time to refuel my ship before I left. I currently do not have enough to get back home."

"That is not my concern. You will leave immediately."

"It will be your concern if I run out of gas and crash right into you royal palace. Now listen to me: I do not have enough fuel to turn around. If you will allow me to land long enough to refuel, I promise you I will leave immediately afterward. Don't worry; I've got credits to pay for the fuel."

"We do not need your credits. You will leave."

Buck took a deep breath, clenched his teeth. "You do not want to make an enemy of B'Linta. Either you let me land and refuel or I will contact my government. We may be famous for our neutrality, but we also have the means of defending ourselves. And if you turn me away, you are committing murder on an ambassador of peace. Do you really wish to invoke the wrath of my government?"

The radio lapsed into silence for several moments. Buck glanced at Lach'et hopefully. Finally the radio sounded again. "You will be given a flight plan and then escorted by the three fighters now approaching your position. Any deviation from the projected flight plan and you will be vaporized."

Buck grinned as he winked at his passenger. "Understood. Thank you." He then turned off the radio.

Lach'et nodded approvingly. "You're good."

Buck smirked as he checked the computer for the flight plan. As soon as he received the update, he input the vector into the navigational display via his helmet. He sighed a breath of relief and leaned back in his seat. 

"It's about time something went right!" he muttered.

Suddenly the shuttle rocked slightly back and forth. Lach'et looked at Buck. "What was that?"

"It almost felt like laser fire," he answered slowly.

"You will not deviate from the approved flight plan," a voice sounded.

Buck looked at his display. "They did fire at us!"

"That was just a warning shot. You will not deviate from the approved flight plan."

Buck quickly checked his display. "I didn't! Check your radar! I'm on automatic pilot. I'm following the vector your space port sent me."

"If you deviate again you will be vaporized."

Buck once again turned off the radio. "If you fire at me again it'll be the last thing you ever do," he murmured almost inaudibly.

They traveled in silence for another minute before the ship rocked again, this time more violently.

"You have been warned about deviating-"

Before Buck could even react, the shuttle swiftly turned and fired on the first escort fighter. It exploded into a huge fireball.

"What are you doing?" Lach'et almost screamed.

Buck swore under his breath. "I didn't mean it! The ship is reading my mind!"

"Well you better do something about the other two ships!"

"Yeah, I know. I'm working on that. This ship is awfully touchy!"  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: so much for things working out right."

Buck shook his head. "Yeah, I know. I knew I'd regret saying that the minute I said it. Well you'd better hang on!"  
Buck swerved the ship toward the planet. Lach'et looked at him questioningly. "What are you doing?"

"This is a transport shuttle, not a fighter. They can out run us and out gun us. Our only hope is to get close enough to the planet before they blow us up."

"What kind of plan is that?"  
"One that hopefully keeps us alive! Don't worry; I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Huh?"

Buck ignored her and concentrated on the ship. Suddenly the shuttle shot into an upward loop. Before the second fighter pilot could do anything, the shuttle circled behind and fired, causing a second explosion. Lach'et reached above her head and pressed a recession in the ceiling. A second helmet protruded from the roof and descended onto her head. She quickly strapped it on and brought up a display on her side of the cockpit.

"I'm reading five more ships leaving the surface of the planet," she announced.

Buck merely nodded. Frantically he searched for a visual on the third fighter. "The radar on this thing sucks," he complained. "What I wouldn't do for my own fighter."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I thought you wanted to take this ship home."

"I changed my mind!'

The shuttle lurched forward into a roll. Once again Buck swore. "I found him!"

"Defense screens down to 30!"

Buck moved the shuttle into a barrel roll as a blast of laser fire passed harmlessly by. "What I wouldn't do for a laser in the back of the ship!" he muttered.

Just then a blue light shot out from the back of the ship and imbedded itself into the third fighter. Buck's eyes widened as he saw the blip on his radar disappear. A slight smile crossed his face. "Cool!"

"Buck, we still have the five new fighters coming at us. They'll be in range in forty-five seconds."

He nodded as he absorbed the information. He veered the ship into a rapid descent into the planet's atmosphere. He brought up a display of the geography of the planet. Lach'et furrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing?"

Buck quickly scanned the contours of the land. Finally he pointed to a spot on his display. "There!"

Lach'et looked but didn't know what she was looking at. "What?"

Buck ignored her. He veered the ship toward the spot he had pointed to on the map. At last he glanced at Lach'et. "How long till they get here?"

She checked her display. "Ten seconds."

He grinned wanly. "It'll be close. Let me know the second they fire at us."

"What are you-"

He glared at her silently. "Trust me!"  
She looked at him for only a moment before averting her eyes back to her display. "They're powering up… targeting… they have a lock… firing!"

Buck hesitated briefly as he did a quick calculation in his head. "Hang on!"

The ship turned upside down and instantly exploded into flames. Buck looked out the view screen at the mountain rapidly approaching. He gritted his teeth. "Come on, baby," he whispered. "Clear the peak…"

Time seemed to stop as the cockpit rapidly descended toward the snow covered mountain. They could feel the top of the cockpit graze the snowy peak of the mountain. Instantly they began to tumble down the other side of the mountain for nearly a minute before finally coming to a rest in a deep snow bank. Buck thought of a laser and a shot of blue energy shot out from behind them. The laser hit an overhanging patch of snow, causing it to break loose and fall down the steep slope.

"What are you…"

Buck held up his hand to silence her. In seconds the cockpit fell completely dark as the pod became buried in the avalanche. Buck brought up the radar display, illuminating the dark cockpit in an eerie green glow. They could see five red blips on the screen hover in place for several minutes before they turned and flew off. Buck smiled broadly as he closed the display. A single green light came on to illuminate the cockpit.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what happened?"

Buck removed the helmet and smiled. "I armed the ship's self destruct to coincide with their laser fire. It would have looked like they destroyed us. Meanwhile the cockpit flew off undercover of the flames. That's why I turned the ship upside down so the cockpit would land quicker. The explosion was between us and the fighter ships. All they saw was the explosion and the debris falling to the snow. I caused the avalanche to cover our tracks. To the planet of Bertram, we were destroyed in the explosion."

Lach'et smiled. "You are brilliant! But how did you know it would do that?"

"I saw it in the start-up screen back on B'Linta."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what do we do now, Buck?"

He simply shrugged one shoulder. "We wait until morning and then starting hiking to town. Then we find the palace and rescue Princess Ardala."

"How are we going to get off the planet when we find her?"

Buck grinned slightly. "I'll cross that bridge when we get there. Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm winging this whole operation."

"Winging?"  
Buck shook his head. "Never mind. Hey, grab that bottle. It's time for a drink."

"How can you think about drinking? We're buried under twenty feet of snow!"

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. And any good landing deserves a toast."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'll drink to that."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Buck moaned slightly as a shiver went up his spine. Reluctantly he opened his eyes. Even the dim greenish hue of the cockpit caused the pain to flow into his brain. His head fell a little further into the chair.

He glanced to his right at the form of Lach'et still sleeping in the copilot's seat. "What the heck was that stuff you gave me?" he muttered as he placed his head in his hands. He tried to stand but quickly decided to stay where he was. Once more he moaned as his eyes rolled back into his head. Another shiver struck him suddenly.

"Twiki?" Buck called softly. "Are you awake?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what's up, Buck?"

"Check your internal sensors. Is it getting cold in here?"

"The temperature has dropped fifteen degrees since we crashed."

Buck nodded once, then regretted moving his head. "I thought so. We need to find some way to get out of here before we all freeze to death."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I thought you had a plan."

He shook his head. "Nope. Not a clue. Any idea how long the winter lasts in this area?"

"About eight more months."

Buck sighed deeply. "Well, that's not gonna work. I don't want to be stuck on this mountain for another eight months until the spring thaw. We'd freeze to death, not to mention starve. You got any ideas for getting to town, Twiki?"

"Where is the town?"

Buck started to say something but stopped short. "That's a good question. Let's see if I can figure it out."

He reached for the helmet and then brought up the ship's main display screen. After analyzing the data for several minutes, he removed the helmet which deactivated the display screen.

"It looks like the city we want to go to is about ten miles behind us on the other side of this mountain. I don't suppose you could walk through deep snow for about ten miles, could you."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'd freeze my cervos!"

"Yeah, I figured."

"You could always leave me here and then come back for me later."

Buck shook his head. "No way, little buddy. We're in this together. I'll come up with a way to get us all out of here." Just then his stomach grumbled loudly. "We need to find some food too."

"No problem," came a voice to Buck's right. "I'll just go out and find some berries on a platter," Lach'et said sarcastically.

Buck turned to look at her. "Sorry, I didn't know you were awake."

Lach'et grinned at Buck. "You don't look so good. Are you feeling all right this morning?"

He shook his head. "That rock-gut you gave me last night is really messing me up. I've got the worst hangover since college when I drank two bottles of Mad Dog."

Lach'et cocked her head to one side as she struggled with the translation slowly. Finally she furrowed her brows. "Huh?"

"That wine you gave me last night is making me sick."

"Oh," she smiled broadly. "That's some of my home brewed wine. All my customers love that stuff. It's the biggest seller in my bar. I can drink that stuff for breakfast."

"I'll stick to bacon and eggs, if you don't mind," he muttered. "If you think that stuff is good, you've got a skewed sense of taste. I'd rather have some whiskey."

"Whiskey?"

This time Buck grinned. "Yeah, whiskey. When we get back to my place, I'll let you try some of my good old fashioned Tennessee whiskey."

"That sounds like a date. There's only one problem."

"What's that?"  
She pointed to the top of the cockpit. "All this snow. What's your plan for getting out of here?"

Buck nodded. "Yeah, that's what we were talking about when you were asleep."

"Too bad we don't have a matter transporter," Lach'et noted.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: how about an Olympic sized heat ray?"

Buck smiled. "Yeah, right. Then we could float down the mountain on…"

Suddenly his voice trailed off into the distance and his eyes widened in excitement. He jumped to his feet and snapped his fingers loudly. "That's it! Twiki, you're a genius!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what did I say?"

Buck rushed to the corner where he'd left his duffle bag. He dumped everything out and donned another outfit over top of what he was already wearing. He threw a pair of pants and a sweater toward Lach'et.

"Here, you'd better put these on."

"What? Why?" she questioned.

But Buck didn't here her. He quickly paced the cockpit muttering to himself. "With all the debris out there, I'm sure I can find something that'll work," he said absently, almost forgetting he wasn't alone.

"Find what?" she asked.

Again Buck didn't hear her. Lach'et turned to the small ambuquad. "Is he always like this?"  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: sometimes he's worse."

Just then Buck turned to face Lach'et. "Hurry up, get dressed!"

"Why?"

"That's the first rule of winter: dress in layers and bundle up."

"But why? Why are we going out in the snow? We have no way of getting anywhere!"

"Sure we do. We're going to town."

"But how? I don't see a transport shuttle or anything else out there. And there's no way I'm walking to town in deep snow for ten miles."

"We won't have to. We'll get a ride for most of it."

"Huh? What are we going to ride? Twiki?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep!"

"Calm down, Twiki," Buck smiled. "Don't tell me you've never gone sled riding?"

"What's a sled?"

Buck rolled his eyes. "Has everyone in this century forgotten how to have fun? I used to go sled riding every week when I was a kid during winter. In fact, I haven't gone sledding since I went to college. Come on, you'll love it. Trust me. Hurry up; get dressed!"

"What's a sled?"

Buck sighed. "Well, when I was a kid most of the time sleds were made of wood. They had runners attached to the wood. We sat on the wood and slid down the hill on top of the snow."

Lach'et looked around the cockpit sarcastically. "I don't see any wood."

"No, but there's a bunch of debris out there. I'm sure we can find something big enough for the three of us. It doesn't have to be wood. We used to use trays when we didn't have sleds. Heck, we even used garbage bags once in a while."

"I don't know about this."

"Hey, you got any better ideas?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, then get dressed. As soon as we open this hatch, the cockpit is gonna get filled with snow."

"Then how-"

Buck held up a laser pistol. "This'll get us to the surface. After that we find a sled and ride down the mountain into town."

After a moment's pause, Lach'et at last shrugged. "Okay. I guess we don't have many other choices."

Buck grinned at her like a school boy. "You're gonna love sled riding."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Buck quickly rifled through his bag and pulled out a pair of pants and a sweater. He then gave the bag to Lach'et. While Lach'et donned an extra set of clothes from Buck's duffel bag, Buck went over to Twiki.

"Hands up."

Buck pulled the sweater onto the ambuquad and then folded up the sleeves. He then set Twiki onto the pilot's seat and pulled the pair of pants onto his bare, metal legs. He then rolled up the pant legs as far as he could.

When he finished dressing Twiki, he started to once again pace the cockpit. He stopped behind the pilot's seat and looked up. He cocked his head to one side for only a moment before he quickly raised his pistol and shot a hole in the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" Lach'et nearly screamed. She then pointed behind Twiki. "The hatch is over there!"

Buck ignored her and jumped onto the seat. He reached his hand through the newly formed hole and grasped a handful of electrical wiring. With a quick yank, twenty feet of wiring fell onto the cockpit floor. He found one of the ends and went behind Twiki.

"Hands up, Little Buddy."

Twiki lifted his small arms and Buck looped the cord around his chest and then tied it into a knot in the back.

"What's that for?" asked Lach'et.

"Somebody's gonna have to lift him out of here when we open the hatch."

She nodded. "Oh, right."

Buck then returned to the pilot's chair and ripped off the cushioned seat cover. He then went to the copilot's seat and did the same thing. Slowly Buck turned around the cockpit.

"Are we ready to go?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: ready as I'll ever be."

Lach'et nodded. "I'm ready for a nice, hot bath."

Buck grinned slightly. "Maybe later," he muttered inaudibly.

"Huh?"

He merely shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't say anything."

Buck went to the side of the cockpit and opened the hatch. Immediately snow began to rapidly fall into the cockpit. Buck held onto a handle at the side of the hatch until the influx of snow lessened enough to stand against. Fortunately the cockpit wasn't buried as deep as he had originally feared. Sunlight suddenly appeared amid a brilliant blue sky. Buck threw the rest of the electrical cord and the seat cushions as far as he could through the opening. Then he slowly waded through the snow to get to the surface. He lifted both hands to shield his eyes from the bright glare.

"Whoa, talk about your snow blind," he commented. He looked down the six feet into the cockpit. "Twiki, just hang on for a couple minutes. Lach'et, come on up."

He reached his hand down as far as he could and helped the woman to the surface of the snow. Her gaze turned to the beautiful snow-capped mountains framing the landscape for as far as the eye could see. "It'd be beautiful if it weren't so cold," she complained. But Buck had already started up the mountain. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Stay there, I'll be right back. I'm going to look for a sled."

Buck struggled through the hip deep snow for nearly an hour until he reached the peak of the mountain. When he disappeared over the top, Lach'et began to get nervous until he reappeared moments later. He waved his hands and then held up a shiny, almost perfectly round piece of debris. He placed it on top of the snow and then hopped onto it. It raced toward the shuttle remains. When he neared the cockpit, he grabbed the side of the 'sled' and rolled off into the snow. He got up and giggled like a boy.

"Man, that was fun! This is gonna be great!" He then looked down into the cockpit. "Okay, Twiki. Time to go."

Buck found the electrical cord and began to pull the ambuquad to the surface. Lach'et grasped a part of the wire and helped pull. When at last Twiki broke the surface of the snow, Buck let out a low whistle.

"I think it's time you go on a diet, Little Buddy."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Sorry, Buck."

Buck grabbed the sled and maneuvered Twiki onto its surface. He then turned and looked back up the mountain. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Where's the ski lift?"

"Ski what?"

Buck shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go. We're burning daylight."

The second trip up the mountain proved to be slower than the first since Buck had to stop every ten to fifteen feet to pull Twiki up the slope. Lach'et made it to the top of the slope and waited for about forty-five minutes until Buck and Twiki finally made it to the top.

"So where is this 'fun' I'm supposed to be having?" she asked sarcastically.

Buck was breathing heavily as he attempted to put his hands on his knees. He handed Twiki's reigns to Lach'et. "Just wait," he grinned slightly. "Here, hold this for a minute. I gotta find a sled for us, now."

Buck surveyed the debris scattered throughout the snow for a few minutes before something caught his eye. He leaped through the snow and down the hill about thirty yards to get to one particular piece of metal. He held it up to the sky in victory.

"Yes!" he screamed.

He quickly moved back toward Lach'et and Twiki. He set the piece of metal down in the snow and smiled. "This looks just like my old toboggan when I was a kid."

"I think you're having way too much fun," Lach'et shook her head.

Buck smiled broadly at her. "You still have the seat cushions?" he asked.

She held up the two cushions. He indicated her to place them onto the sled. "I don't know about this," she mumbled. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Would you rather walk ten miles in this stuff to get to town?"

She sighed heavily. "No, not really."

"Then trust me. Here, you get in first."

Lach'et eased her way onto the piece of metal and placed her feet inside the natural curve. Buck smiled again broadly as he sat down behind her and straddled her on the sled.

"Are you ready Twiki?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: What if I fall off?"

Buck turned around slightly. "Then I'll have to wait until the spring thaw to find you."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I was afraid of that."

Buck took one more deep breath of clear, mountain air. "Are you ready to go?"

"No, not really. Are you sure that this is—"

Buck lurched forward to get the sled moving. Instantly they began to slide down the steep slope. Buck tugged on Twiki's reigns to get him moving as well. Rapidly they picked up speed as they flew down the treeless terrain. The only sounds heard were those of the sleds on the snow… and the screams of Lach'et the whole way down the mountain.

"How do we steer?" she yelled against the wind.

"Just lean!"

"We have to ride this for ten miles?" she asked.

Buck nodded once. "Yeah! Unless we hit a tree… or fall off a cliff!"

"Thanks!" she said sarcastically. "You're not helping my confidence any!"

By the time the sleds finally stopped sliding down the hill, the sky was already beginning to darken. Buck rolled off the sled and laughed loudly.

"That was Great!" he hollered. "It's been years since I've done that!" He turned to Lach'et who was busy wiping snow out of her face. "So what'd ya think?"

"Next time I'll wait for the transport shuttle."

Buck smiled at her. He then turned to Twiki. "How about you, Little Buddy?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: my circuits are freezing."

Buck nodded. "Yeah, I know. Let's go to the lodge and thaw out with some hot chocolate."

Lach'et simply shook her head in frustration. She'd almost given up trying to understand the garbled translations. Slowly they started marching toward the city lights which were still about half a mile away. Buck continued to pull the cord holding Twiki on the piece of debris. The snow at the bottom of the mountain was much easier to walk through, being only calf high as opposed to hip high. The landscape appeared to be barren and treeless, similar to the mountainside.

The trek to the city remained quiet and quickly became increasingly darker. By the time they reached the town gates, the sun had completely vanished. The only lights now were those from the city.

"It doesn't stay light around here for long," Buck commented.

"Bertram has a highly elongated orbit," Lach'et replied.

"I've got a question. Does anyone know what these Bertram people look like? I know they're supposed to be fierce and inhospitable, but I don't think I've ever seen a picture of what they look like."

Lach'et shook her head. "Sorry. I have no idea," she answered through nearly frozen lips.

Buck shrugged. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. Twiki, can you walk?"

"B…e…e…p…-…b…e…-…d…e…-…d…e…-…b…e…e…p…:"

Buck shook his head. "You don't sound so good, Buddy. Here, let me get this cord off you."

He tried to untie the knot, but it was too frozen and Buck's hands were too cold to do any good. "Twiki, can you cut the cord?"

Twiki moved his hand slightly, but his fingers would not move. Buck nodded. "Okay, never mind."

Instead, Buck took what was left of the cord and wrapped it around Twiki's body several times until it didn't drag on the ground. He then tucked the end of the cord inside a few of the wraps to secure it. He took off his overcoat and placed it around Twiki's body, and then he bent down. He draped Twiki's arms over his shoulders and picked him up with his back.

"B…e…e…p…-…b…e…-…d…e…-…d…e…-…b…e…e…p…:"

"Don't argue with me, Twiki. You're my partner. I'm not gonna lose you to the cold. Now, let's go find that lodge."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

They walked through the massive iron gate and slowly. The city streets were wide and completely cleared of snow. And like the terrain outside the city walls, the streets also looked barren and lifeless. Not a soul could be found.

"It's getting really cold again," Lach'et noted.

Buck nodded. "It doesn't take long to get cold again once that sun goes down. We need to find somewhere quick to warm up and maybe get something to eat."

For nearly half an hour they walked down the center of the street before they saw a small hooded figure come out of a lit building. Buck quickly approached the figure.

"Excuse me, could you—"

The figure quickly turned and disappeared down a back alley. Buck turned to face Lach'et. "Not very friendly, are they?"

"Well you said they weren't hospitable."

Soon another small figure appeared on the street. "Pardon me, could you—"

This time the figure stopped only long enough to look at the stranger. Buck thought he saw some facial features hiding underneath the heavy hood before the figure continued his journey past the newcomers.

"Are they all that rude? And short? I could have sworn that kid had a beard."

After several more similar encounters, Buck noticed a large group of shapes walking quickly in their direction. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

"Here comes the welcome wagon."

When the large procession approached Buck and Lach'et, a dozen of the small statured figures pulled rifles out of their cloaks and aimed at them. Among the small figures was one taller man in a long cloak.

"Please come with us," he said forcefully.

"Gladly if it leads to somewhere warmer," Buck said.

"And with food," Lach'et added.

The man didn't respond. Instead he merely turned and began down the street. Buck and Lach'et followed the hooded figure down the street for half an hour before they finally turned into a large building. They were led into a large open, well-lit room. The warmth of the room was short-lived as the twelve armed men circled the room around Buck and Lach'et. The tall man unbuttoned his cloak to reveal that he had been standing on eighteen inch stilts. He stepped down from his loft and approached the only piece of furniture in the room, a small desk opposite the door. After placing his rifle on the desk, he sat down and propped his elbows on the desk. Absent mindedly he began to finger his long, white beard.

"Tell me your name," he ordered.

Buck held up a finger. "Hold on, a minute. My lips are frozen," he mumbled.

The old man sighed heavily. He snapped a finger and one of the guards approached Buck and raised his rifle.

"I'll not repeat myself again."

Buck nodded instantly. "My name is…Brooks. Mel Brooks."

"And you?"

Lach'et glanced at Buck out of the corner of her eye. "La…LaTonya," she said as she sniffled.

The old man simply nodded. "And what about the boy on your back?"

Buck stared at the man blankly for only a moment. "Oh, right. That's my son Twiki. He doesn't speak. Never has. He was born without vocal chords."

"Uh-huh," the old man said dubiously. "And why are you here? Outsiders such as yourselves are not allowed on this planet."

Buck nodded, smirked slightly. "Yeah, it's funny you should ask that. We're just on our honeymoon, me and LaTonya. My navigation console got kind of messed up and malfunctioned. Basically, we didn't know where we were. We're lost. And before we could figure out where we were, the ship ran out of fuel. I landed the ship about two miles that way," he lied as he pointed in the direction in which they had come. "It was a long walk to get here, too. Man, does it get cold out there. By the way, where is here? What planet is this?"

The old man sighed heavily again. "If you are just married, where did he come from ?" he pointed towards the heavily bundled shape on Buck's back.

"Another marriage," Buck explained. "His mother was killed a couple years ago."

"How?"

Buck took a deep breath, lowered his head. "Draconians. They attacked my town a couple years ago."

"Uh-huh," he said again. This is the planet of Bertram. We do not take well to unwelcomed visitors. And you are an unwelcome visitor. Why didn't we see your ship landing on any of our sensors?"

"Huh?" Buck asked, shrugged. "Oh, sorry about that. I must have left that stealth drive system on again. See I'm a… shipper, if you know what I mean, and sometimes I get into places where I'm really not supposed to be."

He looked at Lach'et. Why are you dressed funny?"

She looked at her clothing indignantly. "What's wrong with the clothes I have on?"

"They're not yours."

"Ah," she replied, nodding. "Yeah, you're right. I'm wearing a bunch of Mel's clothes. I wasn't exactly ready to do a bunch of hiking through the snow."

Buck put his arm around Lach'et's shoulder. "We weren't planning on wearing that many clothes on this whole trip, if you know what I mean!"

"Uh-huh." The old man sighed heavily again. He looked at Buck. "Take off your sweater."

"Huh?"

"Your sweater."

Buck hesitated, remembering what he was wearing underneath his outer layer of clothing. "But it's still cold in here. I haven't warmed up yet."

The guard cocked his rifle. Buck took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Okay, but you're not gonna like it."

Buck reached into his sweater and swiftly pulled out his pistol. He aimed it directly at the old man across the desk who immediately began to laugh. Buck's eyes widened in alarm.

"Okay, that wasn't supposed to happen."

"Go ahead and fire," said the old man. "Your weapons here are useless. The cold air here almost immediately drains all energy based weapons," he laughed.

Buck pulled the trigger to no avail. His shoulders slumped as he tossed the pistol onto the desk. He looked at the old man who merely pointed towards the sweater. Buck sighed, shook his head. After setting Twiki down on the floor, he took his sweater off to reveal the uniform Lach'et had acquired for him. The old man simply nodded.

"That's a B'Linton royal guard uniform."

Buck nodded.

"You are the one who shot down three of our fighters yesterday before crash landing in the mountains."

Again Buck nodded. "I can explain," he started.

"Silence!" the old man bellowed. "Guards, take them away… all of them. Take them to the cells upstairs. I must report this to the High Commander at once."

"But let me explain!"

"It is too late for that. You will be tried and executed at dawn. Take them away."

Buck threw up his arms in frustration as he turned to Lach'et. "Well, that could've gone better."

She shot him a glance. "Do ya think?" she said sarcastically as the guards quietly but quickly led them out of the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

They were quickly shuffled to a small cell room at the top of the building. The door slammed and was noisily locked. Buck looked around at the barren, empty room.

"Oh, this keeps getting better and better."

Lach'et leaned against the back wall and sat down on the floor. "So what do we do now? Wait until they execute us?"

"No, there's got to be a way out. I just hope they don't try to contact the B'Lintan government to confirm our existence."

Lach'et's eyes widened. "What if they do?"

Buck shrugged. "Probably nothing. B'Linta will deny knowing about us, which the Bertram High Commander won't believe. But I don't plan on being here that long. There's got to be a way out of here somehow." Buck reached over to Twiki and removed his hood. "It's a good thing they didn't look at you."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep."

The room remained quiet for a moment before Buck began to giggle to himself slightly. Lach'et looked up from her seat.

"What's so funny?"

He shook his head. "Well at least one mystery is explained."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what's that?"

"Knowing Princess Ardala like we do, she probably made a comment on the Bertram's … lack of size."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: not exactly Tiger Man."

Again he chuckled. "Not exactly. I bet you could take down a dozen or two yourself, Little Buddy. Especially now that you're not half frozen. Are you doing okay now, Twiki?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'm feeling much better now."

Lach'et looked away from them. "I'm glad you can laugh about being executed," she said coldly.

Buck shrugged. "It's getting to be old hat for me. This is what, the fifth time I've been sentenced to death?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: six. You forgot about Bethay."

Buck snapped his fingers. "Yeah, right! I almost forgot about that one. You should have been there. There was this girl, see—"

"Well this is my first time!" she cried. "I don't want to be executed on this planet."

"What planet do you want to be executed on?"

Lach'et shot Buck a wicked glance until she noticed the slight curl of his lip turning into a smile. "Okay, funny guy. Tell me your plan to get us out of here."

Buck hesitated for a moment, then turned away. "I'm still working on that one."

The room became quiet for several minutes. Lach'et removed the medallion from her sweater and began to absent-mindedly rub it. Buck slowly stepped over to her and sat down beside her.

"Mind if I see that again?"

She shook her head and handed it over. Buck carefully inspected both sides of the medallion in the dim light. "Twiki, come here and shine a light on this."

The ambuquad strolled over to the corner and flashed a pale light from his eyes onto the medallion. "There's some writing here," Buck said softly. "Twiki, do you recognize it?"

Twiki analyzed the medallion for a moment. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: it looks like Draconian."

Lach'et's eyes lit up widely. "It's Draconian? Are you sure?"

"Can you read it?" Buck asked.

"Sorry, Buck. I don't read Draconian."

Buck nodded once. "Fortunately for us, however, we know someone who does."

"But we have to get out of here first," Lach'et interjected.

Again he nodded. He rose to his feet and walked over to the door to inspect it. He rubbed his chin briefly before his head cocked to one side. Suddenly his eyes widened as he slowly turned to Twiki.

"Hey, how's your battery?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what do you have in mind, Buck?"

Again he rubbed his chin. "Well this lock is metal and the door is made of stone. If we can somehow get the lock to vibrate, it might cause the stone where the lock is imbedded to crack. If we put enough stress on the rock, it'll crack right where the lock is. Then we just push open the door and leave."

"And how do you plan on making the lock vibrate?" she asked. "By singing to it?"

Buck shook his head. "Twiki has an industrial strength battery inside him. If we can apply an electrical charge to the lock, it'll cause an electromagnetic field inside the stone door which should crack the rock."

"Wow. How do you know all this?"

"Hey, I was an astronaut, you know."

"Huh?"

He shook his head. "Never mind."

"But how's that going to work? You'd need some way to hook Twiki up to the door. You need some conductive material, and I don't see anything here like that," she said as she looked around the room.

Buck held up a finger and smiled. He stepped over to Twiki and removed his coat. Lach'et smiled broadly. "Buck, you're a genius!"

He shrugged slightly. "Wait to see if this works, first."

"If we get out of here, I'm gonna give you a big kiss!'

"That's a good start," he muttered almost inaudibly.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: heh heh heh."

"What'd you say?"

"I said cross your heart."

Buck quickly unwrapped the electrical cord from around Twiki's body. After stripping the leads from both ends of the cord, he opened a tiny hatch on the back of the quad and carefully attached one end of the electrical cord to the battery supply. The other end of the wire he shoved into the lock.

"Okay, Twiki. Hit the juice."

A brief spark flew from the door. Buck held the insulated part of the wire tightly as the lock absorbed the electrical impulses. After several moments a large crack sounded from the door."

"Is it working?" Lach'et asked.

Buck merely winked. Several minutes later another loud crack reverberated throughout the room. "Okay, Twiki. Shut it off."

Buck pulled the cord out of the doorway and then disconnected it from Twiki. "How do you feel, Little Buddy?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: a little drained, but okay."

Lach'et jumped up from her seat. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Hang on, Speedy. Let the door cool a little."

"Huh?"

"The door got heated from the electrical charge so the lock expanded inside its recesses hole in the rock. When the lock cools, it'll contract, the rock will crack some more, then we can push the door open easily."

"How long will that take?"

He shrugged. "Depends. Once we're out of here, we still have to come up with some kind of plan. Otherwise, we'll just end up getting captured again. Against this population, you and I kind of stand out."

"Yeah, you're right. Well, we need to find the space port."

"After we find Ardala."

"And then we find a way to get to Remian Four."

Buck nodded. Just then another crack sounded through the room. Buck smiled and gently pushed on the door. It opened slowly several inches until the metal lock fell to the floor. Buck then pressed the door open far enough for everyone to get through.

Lach'et ran up and gave Buck a big hug and a kiss.

Buck grinned. "Last call. Time to go."

""Beep-be-de-de-beep: right behind you, Buck."

Lach'et nodded. "Me too. I'll never doubt you again."

"Don't get your hopes up too high," Buck answered. "We're not out of the frying pan yet."

"Frying pan?"

Buck shook his head. "I'll explain later."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Slowly Buck led them down the deserted hallway to the stairway. They descended the six flights of stairs back to the bottom floor. Then they cautiously started down the hall again. When they were halfway, Buck stopped so suddenly that Lach'et ran right into him.

"What is it?" she whispered.

He just held up a hand. She strained her ears to faintly hear a voice in the distance. He crept down the hall toward the voice until he reached a room with a partially open door. Inside the room was the old man sitting at a desk. He was facing the back wall where several monitors hung on the wall. On one of the monitors was the image of another old man.

"So you are sure that this man is the B'Lintan who shot down our fighters?" asked the man on the monitor.

"Oh, without a doubt, High Commander."

"How did he get here from the wreckage up on the mountain," he wondered aloud. "That is miles away from here. Do they by any chance have a transport pod?"

"We don't know, yet. I have all of my men outside the city scouring the area."

"You have no one guarding him?"

"Not needed, High Commander. They are in an inescapable room. A mouse couldn't find his way out of there."

The old man nodded in approval. "Very well. He must be here for the Draconian Princess. There is no other reason for his presence here."

"Was it really wise to abduct the princess?"

"Are you questioning my decisions?"

"Oh, no, Sir Lord High Commander. The princess insulted our entire race. The Draconians needed to be taught a lesson. But they won't be happy when we release her. We can not fight the whole Draconian Armada."

"I am currently… negotiating with the princess about that matter. I need to get back to my… negotiations. Is there anything else you need, Minar?"

"No, no sir."

"Very well. I need to get back to my… negotiations. I expect to see you in my office first thing in the morning."

The screen went dark. Buck noticed a rifle on the desk behind the old man. Quickly he stole into the room before Minar could turn around. He grabbed the gun and raised it to his chest just as the old man turned away from the monitors. His eyes widened when he noticed Buck standing there with the gun.

"What? How did you get out?"  
"That doesn't matter. Right now I need some things from you."

"And why should I help you? You don't even know how to use that gun."

Buck pulled back the bolt and then pushed it back into place. He then fired a couple shots into one of the large monitors behind the old man. "You want to place a bet on that?" he asked.

The old man sighed, shook his head. "What do you want?"

"I overheard part of your conversation. I want to know where the princess is."

"So you are here for her!"

"Yeah. Now tell me where she is, Frodo."

"Huh? Who's Frodo?"

"Never mind. Where is Princess Ardala."

"She's in the capitol building, but you'll never be able to get her out of there."

"We'll see about that. Come on, let's go."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere that has food. We haven't eaten in two days."

The old man shook his head. "There's no food here."  
Buck shrugged. "Then you can take us to your house."

"M-my house?"

"Yeah. Now get a move on it, Tattoo."

"But I have a wife and kids!"

"Then you can introduce us. Let's go, Doc."

Reluctantly the small man led them through the building back to the first room where Buck grabbed his pistol from the desk. Minar started to grab his stilts when Buck stopped him. "You won't be needing them. Just go."

He started to protest but decided against it. Buck grabbed the long cloak from the rack on the wall and threw a smaller cloak to the old man. He gave him a dirty look, but didn't say a word. He led them out of the building and into the street. They walked for several blocks before entering a small house. The old man led them into a small kitchen area. Buck and Lach'et sat down at the table as Minar set a loaf of bread down. Buck smiled slightly.

"You first."

"What? Do you think my food is poisoned?"

"You did sentence us to death about an hour ago."

Minar nodded. "Good point." He then took a hunk of the bread and quickly ate it. Satisfied, Buck and Lach'et began to eat.

"Just out of curiosity," Buck began. "What did the Princess say to make everyone so mad at her and the Draconians?"

"She called us a bunch of backwater little midget trolls and said the only thing our planet was good for was our mines."

Buck smiled. "That sounds like the Ardala we all know and despise."

Minar cocked his head to one side. "If you do not like the princess, then why are you here to rescue her?"

Buck sighed. "Long story."

"Ahh. You are a mercenary hired by that Draconian dog Kane."

Buck nodded, grinned slightly. "You're pretty good."

Minar looked across the table the Lach'et. "What about you? You do not look like a mercenary."

She shook her head. "I'm a bartender."

He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows. "Then what brings you here with this mercenary?"

"I'm doing a job for her too," Buck explained. "I like to multitask. I'm trying to find her brother who disappeared."

"Is he on Bertram as well?"

She shook her head. "No. We came here to get the princess first."

Minar turned to Twiki. "What about the boy?"

Buck lowered the hood from the ambuquad. "He's my droid and partner."

"Ahh, of course. I should have figured. That's probably how you got out of your cell. So,what made you come for the princess first?"

"We think Ardala might be able to help us find her brother," Buck said.

"How is she going to help you? I get the impression that the princess doesn't exactly… get out much."

Buck smiled. "Yeah, she is a little… eccentric and spoiled. But we have an artifact from her brother," he indicated Lach'et, "that is written in Draconian. We were hoping that Ardala could help us translate it. Also, we think he might be inside Draconian territory… deep inside Draconian territory."

Minar nodded. "May I see the artifact? I have some knowledge of Draconian."

Lach'et glanced at Buck who nodded. She reached inside her sweater, pulled out the medallion and handed it to the small man. He inspected one side of the medallion for a moment before flipping it over to examine the other side.

"You are only partially correct. There is Draconian writing, but there is also Bertram writing here as well. It is very old, though. I only recognize the first couple words."

"Really? What does it say?" asked Lach'et.

Minar lifted the medallion closer to his face. "Roughly translated, it says, 'Search the Floating … Palace?' That's all I recognize. In the original language, it sounds like, 'Anok re higote graffini....'"

Suddenly the medallion began to radiate a soft blue light. Minar quickly released his grip on the medallion. It fell to the table and continued to glow for several moments before fading back to normal.

"What did you do?" Buck asked.

Minar's eyes widened. "I do not know? I take it that's never happened before?"

Lach'et snatched the medallion back off the table. "No, it hasn't. What did you do?"

"I did nothing! I was trying to read the medallion!"

Lach'et tucked the medallion back inside her sweater. She looked at Buck. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. "It might be a key to this 'floating palace'." He turned to Minar. "Is that all you could translate?"

He simply nodded. "That is all I recognized. So where is this floating palace?"

"Probably somewhere near Remian Four. That's where her brother was last."

Again the old man's eyes widened. "Remian Four? You are going to Remian Four? That is indeed deep inside Draconian space."

Suddenly the room became flooded in bright light. "Don't move!"

Slowly Buck's hands raised into the air. He exchanged glances with Lach'et who simply shrugged. Minar stood up so quickly his chair fell over.

"Lord High Commander?"

Buck turned slowly to see the man who's face had been on the monitor. His eyes widened and turned back toward Minar and then back at the High Commander.

"Minar what are you doing here?" the High Commander demanded.

"I live here! What are you doing here?"

Just then a woman stepped from behind the Commander. Minar gasped. "Fabria? What's going on here?"

"Minar," she started. "It's not what you think."

"Yes it is," High Commander said with a smirk.

"But I though you were negotiating with the Draconian Princess!"

"Looks to me like he was 'negotiating' with your wife," Buck said.

"You stay out of this, B'Lintan!" said High Commander.

Suddenly Minar reached for the gun Buck had laid on the table. In one motion, Minar cocked the gun and fired it at the High Commander. The woman gasped and jumped to hide behind Buck. Minar looked at her. "Fabria, how could you do this to me? I love you."

"I…I…I didn't mean for this to happen."

"How long has this been going on?"

She hesitated for the longest moment. "Ever since you went to working nights."

Minar slammed the gun on the table. "Is that why High Commander assigned me to the night shift?"

She nodded.

"That's been three years! Why, Fabria?"

She took a step toward Minar. "I still love you," she started.

He picked up the gun and aimed it at his wife. "You stay there. Don't even talk to me." He turned to Buck who still had his hands in the air. "Come on. I will help you get your princess back."

"What? But I thought you said we wouldn't be able to."

"Not without help, you won't. I have decided to help you retrieve your princess."

"But why?"

He took a deep breath and slowly released it. "There is nothing left for me here," he said, giving his wife a dirty look. "I've killed my superior officer and my wife has betrayed me. If I am caught, I am a dead man. I will help you on one condition."

"What?"

"You take me with you. I need to get off this planet before anyone finds out I've killed High Commander."

"We'll have to steal a ship," Buck said. "My last one is… no longer functional."

Minar nodded. "I know. I can help you with that."

Buck slowly lowered his hands. "Okay, you've got a deal. You help us get Ardala, and I'll get you off this planet."

Minar handed the gun back to Buck. "Let's go."

Buck cleared his throat. "We have to do something with her so she doesn't spill the beans on us."

Fabria held her hands up. "I won't tell anyone! Trust me."

Minar shook his head. "Sorry. I trusted you once. Never again." He looked at Buck. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her. You finish eating. As soon as you're ready, we go get your princess."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After gagging his wife and locking her in the closet, Minar went to High Commander's dead body and searched his pockets until he found a small key card. He then led the group out the back door of his house to a garage. Inside the garage was a large vehicle. Buck looked at the car and then at Minar.

"No offense, but why do you have a car this big?"

"I have a lot of grandchildren."

Minar climbed into the driver's seat while the rest of them got in the back. He drove them through the deserted city streets into the downtown section of the city. He parked in front of the tallest building.

"It's best if only two of us go in," Minar said. "With our cloaks on, I can pass as High Commander." He turned to Buck. "You can pass as me with my stilts on. Just don't say anything."

"Why _do_ you wear those stilts, anyway?"

Minar shrugged. "It started out as a joke but I liked how they made me taller, so it became a trademark of mine."

Buck nodded. "Sounds good to me." He turned to Twiki and Lach'et. "Keep the motor running."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: You got it, Buck."

Buck followed Minar into the front door of the building. Just inside was a reception desk with a woman sitting behind the counter. Minar gave her the key card.

"Welcome back, High Commander. Going up to your office?"

Minar coughed slightly. "Prisoner interrogation."

She nodded. "I'll call up and let them know you're on your way. Good to see you too, Captain Minar."

Buck simply bowed slightly and then followed Minar to the elevator. He inserted the key card into a slot on the console, and then tapped a button. The doors closed and the elevator began to move up. In only a moment, the doors opened again on the fifteenth floor. Minar led Buck down a short corridor to another elevator where he inserted the key card again. The second elevator took them up another fifteen floors.

After three more elevator changes, they finally made it to the top floor of the building. They walked down a short corridor to the door at the end. He slid the card in the slot on the wall and the door opened into yet another reception area. Inside the room was a semi-circular desk situated in the far corner. Just behind and to the side of the desk was another door. Minar stepped up to the desk.

"Good evening, High Commander," said the woman behind the desk. "She's all ready for you."

Minar merely nodded as he crossed the cold metallic floor past the counter to the back door. The receptionist pressed a button and the door opened. They walked through the door and down the hall to a door at the end. Minar slid his card one more time to open this final door. Minar and Buck stepped through the door to see a woman lying on a small cot at the far end of the tiny cell. She rolled over slightly to look at the two newcomers. Buck grinned under the security of his hood.

"Well, aren't you the tall one," she muttered. "Are you the one in charge? Can you turn the heat up a little in here? It's freaking cold in here!"

"Yeah, I noticed," Buck answered. "You _could_ do with a dimmer switch."

She cocked her head slightly to one side. "Huh?"

"Leave it to you to dress like that on a world covered with snow."

Her eyes widened as Buck removed his hood. She leaped to her feet and rushed toward him. "Buck, Darling! You really do care for me, don't you!?"

"Yeah, sure," he said hollowly. "Kane came to me asking for help."

"And you jumped at the opportunity to save my life!"

"Not exactly," he shook his head. "I turned him down, so Kane went over my head and double teamed me. I'm here… unofficially."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter why you're here. You are here for me, and that's what matters. So let's get to your ship on the flight deck and get out of here."

"That might be a problem."

"Why?"  
"I never saw the flight deck."

A confused look crossed her face. "You didn't come here on a ship?"

"I did have a ship."

"Then where is it?"

Buck pointed toward the right wall. "About ten miles up the mountain."

"Huh?"

"I'll explain later. Right now we gotta get out of here."

"Who's your little friend? Did Doctor Huer from Ear—"

Buck grasped Ardala and immediately pressed his lips onto hers. She responded quickly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. After several moments, their lips parted.

"Buck, Darling," she breathed heavily. "I knew you couldn't resist me."

He sighed deeply. No names," he whispered almost inaudibly. "I'm here unofficially."

"But—"

"There's more where that came from if you shut your mouth right now and just follow me."

"Hmmmm," she grinned seductively. "I'd follow you to the end of the universe!"

Buck rolled his eyes slightly. "You did that already."

Ardala smiled knowingly. "Oh, right. Well, shall we?"

They turned and walked back down the hall to the exit. Buck held up his hand to stop Minar. "Allow me."

Buck stepped through the door to see twenty armed men standing in the room. "Oh hi, guys! Are you here to see me off?"

"Put your hands up. You're all under arrest."

Buck turned to face Minar. "You know what? I'm really getting tired of this planet."

He then slammed the door shut and leaped behind the now abandoned semi-circular desk before anyone could fire his weapon. He pulled the gun out of his cloak and began to fire at the guards from behind the desk. Bullets landed on both sides of the room for several minutes before Buck took a look at his gun.

"This doesn't look good. I'm almost out of ammo."

He tossed his gun over the desk and almost immediately the firing stopped. Slowly he stood, hands in the air, to see over a dozen guards still standing. He shook his head in frustration.

"I must be losing my touch."

Just then the bell on the elevator sounded and another cloaked guard started walking down the hall. Buck shook his head again.

"What is this? The lollipop guild?"

Deliberately the figure walked up the corridor until it reached the open door. It stopped and faced Buck. Suddenly Buck's eyes widened as he noticed a light emanating from beneath the hood.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Jump, Buck!"

Buck jumped onto the stone desk just before the cord trailing behind Twiki touched the metallic floor. All the remaining guards dropped their weapons instantly as they fell to the floor.

"Twiki! Am I happy to see you! What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait in the car."

Buck released the door latch to the inner cells.

"It's a good thing I did follow you," Twiki replied.

Buck smiled boyishly. "I had everything under control. But why did you come up?"

"Two minutes after you left, the army stormed the building. I thought you could use the cavalry."

He nodded. "Thanks, Buddy."

Minar looked at all the guards lying on the floor. "Are they all dead?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: unconscious. I used just enough juice to knock 'em out."

Buck grabbed Ardala by the hands and began to walk toward the elevator. "Come on, it's closing time. Train's leaving."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After Buck collected the unused ammo from the guards lying on the floor, Minar led them back down the building to the waiting car outside. Just as they were getting in, Ardala noticed Lach'et in on of the back seats. She turned to Buck.

"Buck, Darling. Who's your girlfriend back here?"

Buck gently pressed on her back to get her into the car. "Princess Ardala, meet Lach'et. She helped me get here to Bertram from B'Linta."

"B'Linta?"

"Yeah. That's where Kane dropped me off and left me. Now get in!"

"Well, that is no way to treat a Draconian Princess," she complained.

"I'll make it up to you later. Now just get in; we gotta get out of here!"

"Promises, promises. I'm going to hold you to that, Buck."

When everyone was safely inside the vehicle, Minar started the engine and pulled out into the street. He drove for several minutes until he pointed out the passenger window. "There's the space port."

The space port sat atop a slight knoll about a hundred yards off the main road. It was surrounded by a high fence and patrolled by dozens of armed soldiers. Buck nodded, waved down the road. "Keep driving."

Minar parked the car a couple blocks away from the space port driveway. He turned to Buck. "Any ideas on how to get out of here? Looks like the army is patrolling."

Buck shrugged. "I got nothing."

"If we could get to the hangar, we could take the High Commander's personal shuttle. It's in a private part of the hangar."

"But how are we going to get there?"

"I don't know. Let's go and scout the area."

Buck nodded his acknowledgment. "Everyone stay here where it's warm."

Minar and Buck pulled their hoods back on and exited the car. They walked up the street a little bit until the houses ended. Buck noticed the fence behind the row of houses. He turned to Minar.

"Does this fence go all the way around?"

Minar simply nodded.

Then Buck looked at all the soldiers patrolling the entranceway. "I bet they've got patrols inside the fences too." He quickly checked his ammo supply. "I'm not gonna be able to take out all of them."

"You won't need to," came a voice from the darkness behind them.

Buck whirled around with his gun raised. A small figure stepped out of a nearby alley and removed its hood.

"Fabria?" Minar asked incredulously. "But how'd you get here?"  
She grinned weakly. "You never were very good at tying knots."

"But—"

"I know you have no right or reason to trust me, and I understand that. But I can help you get off the planet."

"I don't want any—" Minar started before Buck interrupted.

"Any help you can give us would be greatly appreciated." He looked at Minar. "Lives are at stake, here."

The old man sighed, nodded. "Very well. I will listen."

"I know how you can get to High Commander's personal shuttle. There is a secret entrance down here."

"Why should I trust you?"

"We're gonna have to. We're not breaking through the front door. If there's a back door in, that's how we're getting out of here." He turned to Fabria. "Please take us to the shuttle."

She nodded and began to quickly walk down the street. They stopped only long enough to collect everyone from the car. Ardala began to say something, but Buck gave her a dirty look. She merely lowered her head and followed the rest out of the car. Fabria led them down an alley partway before stopping at a manhole cover. She pointed to the cover.

"There is a passageway we can take to get to the shuttle."

Minar huffed. "I won't ask how you know about this."

Buck leaned over and easily removed the cover to reveal a tunnel. Ardala shook her head and stomped her foot. "A Draconian Princess does NOT walk through sewers."

Buck smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. Stay here. Get shot."

He jumped into the hole and climbed down the eight foot ladder. Ardala moved to the cover and looked down. "A fine knight you are," she complained.

"If you're not coming down, get out of the way so everyone else can."

She huffed a couple times, then began to descend the stairs. Buck helped her down the final couple steps, then hollered up. "Next! Hurry up!"

When everyone was in the tunnel, Buck went back up the ladder and replaced the manhole cover. Fabria led the way through the tunnels with a small flashlight in her hand. After ten minutes of walking, she came to a stop.

"Why are we stopping here?" Lach'et asked.

Fabria pointed to a small grating above her head. "These tunnels continue underneath the space port and to other destinations. But High Commander's personal shuttle is right above us here, through that grating. Stay here for a moment."

She took a few more steps down the tunnel to a turnoff. She reached around the corner and pulled out a small stepladder, and returned to the grating. Buck pulled the grating back and went through the hole first. "I'll make sure the coast is clear."

He took a quick lap around the small hangar. Inside the hangar was a rather large shuttle craft flanked on all four sides by a fighter similar to the ones he had shot down only the day before. He went back to the tunnel entrance.

"Okay, let's go!"

He helped everyone through the hole and into the hangar. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: holy smokes!"

Buck nodded. "Hey Minar, how come your fighters are so big? They're bigger than the ones I'm used to flying."  
"It is all part of the illusion we create for ourselves. That is also the reason we are so adamant about not allowing outsiders on our world. If outsiders like yourselves realized that are all small, your people might think we'd be easy targets."

"Actually that makes pretty good sense."

Minar went to the shuttle and pulled out the keycard one more time. He swiped it in the slot and almost immediately a door opened from the top of the shuttle. It slowly lowered to make a ramp with the floor.

"You all go with Minar," Buck started. "I'll take one of these fighters and use it as an escort, just in case we get into a dogfight before we can get to the stargate. I don't relish the idea of trying to fight our way out in that shuttle."

"Good idea," Minar agreed. "Do you think you can handle it?"

Buck smiled broadly. "If it's got wings, I can fly it."

Ardala wrapped an arm around Buck's waist. "Take me with you, Darling."

"Sorry, it's only a one man ship. Twiki, keep an eye on the princess, will ya?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: my pleasure!"

"Minar, you go first. I'll cover you."

He nodded as Buck raced to the fighter ship in front of the shuttle. Minar turned to climb the ramp when he saw Fabria standing several feet from the ship. She had her head down in shame. Slowly he walked up to her and placed a hand on her chin to raise her head.

"Why are you doing this?"  
She averted her eyes to the floor. "Believe it or not, I still love you, Minar. I never meant any of this to happen. I just got in over my head and …I don't want to see you killed. You'd better go."

He turned and walked up the ramp. When he reached the top, he turned to see her once more. Tears rolled from her eyes and dropped onto the floor.

"You can come with us," he said softly.

She shook her head. "I'll be waiting here… if you ever decide to come back."

Minar tapped a button on his left and the door began to close. He turned and headed for the cockpit.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Both ships roared to life. Buck moved the fighter slightly forward and to the left to allow the shuttle access to the exit into the larger hangar. As soon as the shuttle entered the main hangar, Buck moved to follow. Minar rolled the shuttle toward the launch tube. Before he could make it halfway, however, a squad of armed soldiers moved to block the way and began to fire on the shuttle.

"How dare they fire on a Draconian Princess," Ardala commented.

"Oh shut up," Lach'et countered. "They don't care who you are!"

She shot Lach'et a dirty look, but quickly turned away and quieted.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Get 'em, Buck."

Buck activated his forward lasers and fired at the communications tower behind the soldiers. Pieces of rock and metal showered onto the floor. The soldiers scattered enough for the shuttle to get positioned into the launch tube. Buck continued to fire at random targets in the hangar until the tube was clear. Once the shuttle was free, he maneuvered into the launch tube and was shot out into the cold, Bertram air. He tapped a button on the console in front of him.

"Hey Minar, I thought you said that lasers don't work on this planet because of the cold air."

"Portable hand lasers don't," he explained. "But the airships are big enough to provide insulation to the power source of the lasers. Besides, our fighters wouldn't be very effective in space if we couldn't use lasers to defend ourselves."

"True. Hey, you're pretty good at flying that thing."

"Every Bertram has to serve some time in the military when they become of age. I served my time with the space defense corps."

"Great! Now let's make tracks to that stargate."

In minutes both ships were out of the atmosphere of the planet and flying through the blackness of space. They flew in silence for only a few moments before Buck noticed the blips on his sensors.

"Minar, you keep heading for that stargate. We've got company. I'll double back and take care of them."

Buck grasped the control stick of his fighter tightly. He banked away from the shuttle and headed straight for the six fighters coming in his direction. Just before he got into range of the fighters, he pushed on the controls and dove down toward the planet. He banked hard to the right and up and fired at the closest fighter which exploded into flames. He flew straight through the smoke of the wreckage and immediately took out another fighter unlucky enough to be trying to avoid the fire. He then pulled back on the stick and accelerated away from the planet. The other four fighters took a moment to reorganize themselves before they could pursue. Buck intently watched the computer readouts at the fighters steadily catching up to him. Once again just before he could be targeted, he banked the fighter into a large upwards loop. He pressed the trigger and cut two more fighters in half from his vantage point above them.

Ardala smiled broadly from ear to ear. "That's my Buck. Isn't he simply amazing? Look at him fly that ship."

Lach'et sighed. "Hmmmph. The way you talk about him, you'd think you were lovers. You should have heard the way he talked about you."

Ardala's smile faded only briefly. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy here? If you knew Buck as long as I do…"

"You're just a spoiled little princess," Lach'et muttered.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: hubba, hubba…a cat fight!"

Ardala gave Twiki a dirty look. "Buck has feelings for me. He just won't let himself admit it."

Lach'et nodded sarcastically. "Right. He had feelings for me last night, too."

Minar looked up from his console. "Ladies, please! I'm flying here! If you two want to fight, wait until we're safely through the stargate. Buck might be in some danger; he is outnumbered six to one."

Ardala waved her hand. "That's nothing for him."

"Minar, you better turn this thing around and help Buck!" Lach'et called. "That fighter's got a beat on him!"

"Hang on, ladies! We're going in!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: hang on, Buck. We're coming in!"

Just as he flattened out his descent, his fighter rocked violently and sent him flying into a tailspin. Just before another laser shot could finish the job, Buck regained control and pushed the control stick forward as hard as he could. The reverse thrusters fired and the enemy fighter flashed overhead. Buck fired his lasers and the fifth fighter burst into flames. His fingers flew across the controls and the ship lurched into action again. Desperately he searched the sky and his radar screen to find the final ship.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: he's on your tail," Twiki announced in Buck's ear.

Buck found the ship on his radar. He grabbed the control stick and violently slammed it to the right. The enemy ship repeated the move, but fired his laser just wide. Buck then tried to bank left, but the enemy fighter once again countered. Buck flew his fighter in every way he could think to shake his adversary.

"I can't shake him!" he said nervously. "This guy is good!"

Suddenly Buck saw a flash of blue light whiz right past his cockpit window followed quickly by an explosion.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: here comes the cavalry!"  
Buck looked up to see the shuttle flying just over his wing. He smiled broadly and waved. "Nice shooting there, Minar."

"What are you talking about," he responded with a smile in his voice. "It was all I could do to catch up with the action. You shot down the other five so fast, I didn't think I'd get to do anything. Where'd you learn to fly like that?"

Buck grinned. "Oh, here and there."

"Buck, Darling! You were marvelous, as usual," Ardala fawned.

"Oh shut the hell up," Lach'et groaned.

Buck furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to figure what was going on. At last he shrugged and gave up trying. "What do you say we act like a shepherd and get the flock out of here?"

"What?"

"Head for the stargate. It's time we put that planet behind us."  
"Gladly. What coordinates do you want to set?" Minar asked.

Buck thought for a moment. "How about Lyra Seven."

"But that's out in the middle of nowhere."

"Exactly," Buck smiled. "That'll give us a chance to stop, rest, and plan our next moves."

There was a slight pause before Minar answered. "That sounds good. Everyone here is in agreement."

"Great. See ya on the other side."

With that both ships headed for the stargate. Just before entering the gate, Buck checked his console to see if anyone else was following. Satisfied, he took a deep breath and held it for a moment.

"I hate these things," he muttered as he entered the gate.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

On the other side of the stargate, Buck found the shuttle and pulled his fighter alongside. He started to say something into the radio but Minar beat him to it.

"If you get a little closer, Captain, you can dock with us. Then we can all gather in the passenger area and discuss our plans."

Buck's eyes widened slightly. "We can dock the two ships?"  
"Yes. This shuttle is actually equipped with two docking ports, one on either side. It was designed for diplomatic missions, but since we don't associate with the rest of the galaxy very often, they don't get used much. We can even fly with either one or two fighters attached to the ship."

Buck nodded in approval. "That's cool. Okay, I'll be right over. Don't go anywhere."

Once the two ships were docked, Buck crossed the airlocks and entered the bay of the shuttle. Ardala met him at the airlock door with a hug and a kiss.

"Buck, Darling. You saved my life again. This is becoming a habit of yours!"

Buck grinned wanly. "Yeah. You know what they say. The bad habits are always the hardest ones to break."

Lach'et turned away and tried hard to swallow her laughter, but failed miserably. Ardala gave her a dirty look which Lach'et totally ignored.

"That was an excellent display of combat skills," Lach'et praised Buck. "When you told me you were a pilot, you failed to mention that you were the best pilot in the galaxy. But then again, I should have figured that out on my own. After all, you were able to fly me to the moon the other night!"

If looks could kill, Ardala would have thrown icy daggers straight through Lach'et's skull. Instead she gave a "Hmmmmph" and turned away.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: welcome back, Buck."

"Twiki," Buck said in a low hush. "Did I miss something?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: oh yeah!!!"

Minar entered the bay from the cockpit. "Nice flying, Captain."

"You too, Minar. Thanks for your help. And please, call me Buck."

"So where do we go from here?" he asked. "I know you mentioned something about going to Remian Four."

Ardala's head perked up. "Remian Four? What business do you have there?"

"That's kind of why Lach'et is here. She helped me get a ship to get off of B'Linta so I could bust you out of Bertram. In exchange for her help, I promised to help her get to Remian Four."

She glared at her new arch nemesis. "What's on Remian Four that is so important that you have to go deep into Draconian territory for?"

"My brother."

Buck sat down beside Lach'et. "Show her the medallion."

Her eyes met Buck's. "Do I have to?"

He nodded. "We're going to need her help to get there."

She sighed heavily; her shoulders slumped forward. "Oh, all right."

She removed the medallion from around her neck and reluctantly handed it to the princess. Ardala inspected the medallion for several minutes.

"I've never seen anything like it."

"What about the inscription," Buck asked. "It's written in Draconian, isn't it? At least part of it is. Can you read any of it?"  
She looked at it again. "I recognize some of it, but most of these symbols I've never seen. It does resemble Draconian, but it must be an ancient dialect which I'm not familiar with. See my tutors didn't really cover ancient history."

"Great," Lach'et muttered sarcastically. "Another dead end."

"Not necessarily," Ardala countered. "I do recognize these two symbols here."

She showed Buck two particular symbols on the back of the medallion. "See these?" she continued. "I don't know what it says before or after this, but this says, 'ultimate weapon'."

Buck gave a low whistle. "What kind of weapon?"

Ardala shrugged. "I don't know. But there is someone on Remian Four that can help us."

"Really?"

She nodded. "There is a famous linguist who lives in the royal palace on Remian Four. He might be able to translate it. In fact, he was one of my tutors."

"There's a palace on Remian Four?"

"But of course. I've spent many summers on Remian Four. It's where we usually go for vacation, or at least we used to. Father doesn't take time off anymore."

"Too busy conquering the galaxy," Twiki quipped.

Ardala did not move a muscle to deny the accusation.

"So will you help us get to Remian Four?" Buck asked.

"I won't do it for her," she indicated Lach'et. "But I'll do it for you, Buck. It's the least I can do, considering you've saved my life twice today."

"Great!"

"Shall I start the engines?" asked Minar.

Buck thought for a minute. "No, not yet. We should send a message to Kane, letting him know that the princess is safe. I also want to send a message to my superiors."

"And then as soon as Kane gets here with my superfortress, we can all go to Remian Four."

"Is that such a good idea?" Lach'et asked.

Buck shook his head. "I agree."

Ardala furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want Kane to know where we are quite yet. We can't take your ship to Remian Four. I prefer to keep a low profile. If we arrive on your superfortress of a ship, it'll attract too much unwanted attention."

"What do you mean?"  
"If Lach'et's brother has been kidnapped, we don't want to alert his captors that we're on the planet and looking for him."

Ardala shrugged her shoulders. "Kane won't be happy about this little situation."

"I'm not worried about what Kane will like or not like," Buck said. "I'm trying to keep quiet about this whole thing."

"But Kane went to the trouble of convincing you to rescue me and return me to my superfortress. If you don't return me right away, he'll come looking for us."

"Then we don't tell him where we're going. It's a big galaxy."

"I agree with Buck," Lach'et admitted.

"You would!"

"Princess, think about it. If we show up on Remian Four in a superfortress, my brother's life could be jeopardized. And if your partial translation of the medallion is accurate, we can't afford to let this Kane fellow know about this 'ultimate weapon.' It's better if we search for the 'floating palace' quietly without letting half of the Draconian armada knowing what we're doing."

"Floating palace?"

"Minar translated the first couple words for us," Buck explained.

"Oh, I see. But what do you intend on telling Kane? Are you just going to say, 'Kane, I have the princess, but you can't have her back yet. We're going to search Remian Four for a floating palace and an ultimate weapon. I'll let you have the princess when I'm done with her.'?"

Buck grinned. "Something like that, only without the details."

Ardala cocked her head to one side. "You're serious, aren't you."

"We can tell Kane that you are safe, but we can't rendezvous with him just yet."

"He won't like that excuse."

Buck shrugged. "Okay, then we tell him that I've kidnapped you and I'll return you after I'm done with you."

Ardala's eyes widened as she smiled broadly. "I'm being kidnapped… by Buck Rogers? Ohhhhhh, this sounds absolutely delicious."

Lach'et rolled her eyes and turned away. Buck simply shook his head. "Somehow it sounded like a better idea just before I said it."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: are you sure about this, Buck?"

Buck slowly rubbed the back of his neck with both hands. He looked at the bright, beaming face of the princess. "This might not be such a good idea."

"Oh, Buck. Cheer up. We'll just have to make the best of it! You… me… on a tropical world… what could sound better? We'll have plenty of time to spend together… alone!"

Buck nodded. "Yeah, I know. That's what I was afraid of."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Doctor Huer looked up from his desk when the door slid opened. He smiled immediately when he saw the familiar figure in the form fitting flight suit.

"Colonel Deering, excellent timing. How was your trip to New Phoenix?"

"I went well, Doctor Huer. The research facility is doing some marvelous things down there."

"Excellent."

"Of course it is," said a small round box sitting on the table. "The research facility is run by one of the greatest minds on Earth, Doctor Apollonius."

"Good morning, Doctor Theopolis," Wilma said. "By the way, have you heard anything from Buck, yet?"

"As a matter of fact, we just received a transmission from him several minutes ago. I was just getting ready to page you."

Wilma's eyes lit up. "Was he successful in rescuing the princess? Is he on his way back to Earth?"

Doctor Huer stood and went to a large monitor on the wall. "Here, just let me play the message for you. Doctor Theopolis and I are still trying to decipher his message."

Wilma narrowed her eyes and looked at the older man. "Decipher?"

Huer merely nodded as he tapped a button. Buck's face almost instantly appeared on the monitor. "Hi guys, Doc, Wilma. Just wanted to send you a quick update on my progress. I can't be too specific; never can tell who's listening, if you know what I mean. I was successful in getting the cat out of the bag, but something's come up and I had to put her in a new bag instead of taking her home."

The image on the message paused for a moment. Wilma looked at Huer. "What does he mean by 'cat out of the bag'?" she asked.

Huer pointed to the message. "There's more."

"I, uh, met someone on my trip who helped me get to my destination," Buck continued. "Together we were able to let the cat out of the bag. However, I had to make a deal with here in order for her help. She had in her possession… an artifact with an inscription written partially in cat language. The partial translation we got from the cat was a reference to some kind of 'ultimate weapon.' I believe that there may be… cats after this artifact and therefore the weapon. Therefore, I won't be coming home quite just yet. I have a lead on where the weapon might be. If there are indeed certain cats who are after this thing, all of us might be in imminent danger. I can't say a lot now, but I'll explain everything when I get back. I can't tell you where I'm going, either, because it will probably be quite dangerous, and I could never ask you to authorize it. All I can say is that I couldn't return the cat to its proper owners because I need her to open the back 'gate' for me," he said, putting emphasis on the word 'gate.' "I'll see you as soon as I get back, and try not to miss me too much. Oh, and Wilma, if you could water my plants, I'll pay you back later when I get back!" he winked. "Rogers, out."

The screen went blank. Wilma looked at Huer with a bewildered look on her face. "What did he just say?"

Huer shrugged as he made his way back to the desk. "I'm not exactly sure," he admitted. "I've listened to the message several times, now, and I'm still trying to figure it out."

"I believe the 'cat' he is referring to is the Princess Ardala," Theo announced. "He said he was successful in 'getting the cat out of the bag.' His original objective was to rescue the princess. Therefore I believe that means he did indeed rescue Ardala from Bertram."

Wilma's eyes brightened. "Of course. And the artifact he found that was written in 'cat language' is code to mean it's written in Draconian."

"I believe so."

"And when he said that he couldn't 'take the cat home yet' meant that he didn't return her to Kane."

"Which means he's still holding her for some reason," Huer reasoned.

"Oh, poor Buck!" Wilma smirked.

"Indeed," Huer replied without any emotion. "But I'm more worried about what Buck said about the inscription on this artifact. This 'ultimate weapon."

Wilma nodded. "He said it's written in Draconian, so he probably needs Ardala to help him translate it."

"But we all know Princess Ardala. How can Buck trust that he's getting the right translation? If it is written in Draconian, and it talks about an ultimate weapon, why would he be taking the heir to the Draconian throne somewhere that might jeopardize the entire galaxy if there is a weapon there?"

"I don't know, Doctor. I wonder what he meant when he said he was going to use the cat to 'open the back gate'? What could that mean?"

"Well, if Ardala is the 'cat'," Theo suggested, "He needs her to not only translate the artifact, he needs her to open some kind of gate before they can proceed."

Wilma nodded absently. "She has to open the back gate… back gate… gate…" Suddenly her eyes widened beyond proportion. "Open the gate! He needs her to input a code into the stargate!"

"Then that could only mean…"

Wilma nodded. "He's going inside Draconian territory! Deep inside Draconian territory! Inside the inner core! That's the only place that requires a code in the stargate! He might even be going to the Draconian home planet itself!"

Huer nodded. "It does all make sense. And he is right, if we are deciphering this correctly. I could never authorize something of this magnitude. If Buck is indeed going into Draconian territory, may the gods be with him."

Wilma turned to face the monitor. "Buck," she fumed quietly. "You'd better know what you're doing!"

Kane sat quietly in the command center of the superfortress as people moved busily around him. Eventually a woman turned to face Kane.

"Commander Kane, I've just received a coded message, transmission only. Carrier wave has been disconnected."

Kane visibly perked up. "Source?"

"Unknown, Sir. It's scrambled, but it's carrying the royal code."

He nodded once. "Very well. Send it to my chambers. I'll decode it there in private."

"Yes, Sir."

Kane nonchalantly rose and left the command center. Once alone in the hallway, he hurried to his private chambers and went straight to the video monitor. He tapped a button to download and decode the message. Soon Ardala's face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Kane. Do you miss me? As you can probably determine, Captain Rogers was successful in rescuing me from the planet of the midgets. I must applaud your resourcefulness in convincing Buck to come to my aid. I don't know how you did it, but I am fully supportive of your choice. Rest assured I am safe from any harm right now. However, Buck has made me a proposition which I find intriguing and I have decided to take him up on his offer. Therefore, I won't be returning to my ship quite yet."

Kane's eyes widened. "What?" he yelled at the monitor.

"Furthermore, I forbid you from trying to trace this message and find me. Trust me when I say that I am in… very capable hands," she grinned as she looked out of the corner of her eye offscreen. "We will let you know when and where to find me when we are done with our… excursion. If anyone asks, just tell them I'm taking a well deserved vacation. Don't get too comfortable, though, with not having me around. When I come back, I expect everything to be as I left it. And I do mean everything.

"Well, Buck says it's time to go. Goodbye, Kane. As Buck would say, you'll see me when you see me. And whatever you do, don't tell my father I'm gone."

Kane slammed his fist into the wall beside the monitor. "Captain Rogers," he screamed. "What game are you playing now?"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Minar brought the engines to life as Ardala made her way to the copilot's seat. Buck moved to stand behind the princess. Minar looked over at Ardala.

"I'm ready for the code," he told her.

"I hope you know that only a select few people in the galaxy know this code," Ardala announced.

"Like who?" Buck asked.

"Well, there's all the armada captains, commanders, co-captains, communications officers, well actually I think all the officers know the code. And then there's the whole royal court, of course. And then there's all the shuttle captains and co-captains, the supply ship personnel,…"

"That sounds like a pretty long list to me," Buck said.

She thought for a moment, then turned to Buck and grinned sheepishly. "You're right. Now that you mention it, I guess it's not that big a secret after all."

"Then punch it in and let's go."

"Okay," she said as she turned to face the console in front of her. She typed in the ten digit code, then turned to Minar. "The access code is in."

Minar pushed on his control stick and the ship moved toward the stargate. Buck rushed into the bay area and sat down in the empty seat next to Lach'et. Ardala looked back at him.

"Where are you going, Buck Darling?"

He breathed heavily. "I don't like stargates when I'm sitting down. I don't really want to take this one standing up."

She grinned at him as she turned to look out the viewscreen.

The shuttle entered the stargate. Buck held his breath for what seemed an eternity before the exited out the other side. He took a deep breath and slowly released it.

"I'll never get used to these things. For some reason, that gate seemed a heck of a lot longer than normal."

"You're right, it was. To enter the inner core of Draconian space, there is a series of little mini jumps, as well as required confirmation of the access code."

"So how long until we reach Remian Four? Do I need to go hop in the fighter?"

Ardala shook her head. "No, that won't be necessary. We actually need to travel to another stargate before we can jump to Remian Four."

"What? Another stargate? Great," he said sarcastically.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: it'll be okay, Buck."

Ardala grinned. "You mean to tell me I finally found a weakness to the great Buck Rogers?"

"Oh, leave him alone," Lach'et snapped. "I find it refreshing to know that he's not perfect."

Buck closed his eyes. "Why another gate?"

"All we did with this gate was to get inside the inner core," Ardala explained. "We need to travel about half an hour to the next stargate to get to Remian Four. Then from that gate it's another twenty minutes."

"Then we'll have to type the code in again?" Minar asked.

"No. The only time you need the code is to get inside the inner core. Once you're inside, the stargates act just like any other gate in the galaxy."

"Will we need the code to get out?" Buck asked.

Ardala shook her head again. "No. Only to get in."

"Good," Buck said, eyes still closed. "Just in case we have to leave in a hurry."

The shuttle fell into silence for a moment before Minar chimed in. "Hey, does anyone want to listen to some music?"

"Sure," Buck said excitedly. "Got any Doobie Brothers or Boston?"

Everyone in the cabin turned to look at Buck except Twiki. Buck shrugged his shoulders. "What?"

Minar tapped a button on his console. Instantly the shuttle was surrounded by odd drumbeats and strange sounds from unidentifiable, questionable musical instruments. Buck gave Minar a false smile and a thumb's up.

"That's good too," he lied. "Sounds great." He leaned back into the deepest recesses of his seat. "Great," he mumbled. "Half an hour of weird midget music. Life is good."

Lach'et began to giggle. Minar looked back at the two in the bay. "What's funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," Lach'et said. "I think Buck likes your music, though. He said, 'Life is good.'"

Minar smiled and nodded. "I'm glad you like it!"

Buck glanced at Lach'et out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks," he muttered.

Shortly after exiting the second stargate, the radio suddenly blurted to life. "Remian Four Space Control to unknown craft. Identify yourself immediately within fifteen seconds or be vaporized."

Buck instantly sat up in his seat as Minar shut off the music. "Wow," he said. "They don't play around."

Minar reached for the microphone switch, but Ardala stopped him. She tapped a button on her console. "Remian Four, this is Princess Ardala, first heir to the throne of Draconia. I request immediate clearance to the Palatial hangar."

"Do you have video capabilities so we can confirm your identity?"

Minar tapped a button and Ardala peered into the monitor. "How's this?"

"Thank you, Highness. Please send the royal code."

Ardala input the coded number into her keyboard. There was a brief pause before the radio sounded again. "Thank you, Princess. Clearance has been granted straight to the palatial hangar. Welcome back, Princess Ardala. It has been too long since you've graced us with your presence. We are sending the vector and coordinates to you now."

Minar nodded when Ardala looked over at him. "Vector received."

"Princess, may we ask why you are travelling in an alien spacecraft as opposed to-"

"No, you may not."

She disconnected the transmitters. Buck looked at Twiki. "I'm glad she's on our side," he said softly.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: for now, anyway."

Buck nodded and then raised his finger to his lips to quiet the droid. Minar let the computer fly the ship down to the planet and into the palatial hangar. When the ship came to a stop, Buck went to the bay door and released the hatch.

As soon as the door opened, the tropical heat of the planet permeated throughout the shuttle. On their way down the ramp of the shuttle, Buck and Lach'et quickly removed their sweaters. As Lach'et removed her sweater, the medallion became stuck on the fabric and came off her neck and landed on the ramp. She quickly grabbed the medallion and placed it back on her neck and stuffed it inside her inner shirt before finishing her trek down the ramp. Just as Princess Ardala appeared at the head of the ramp, several people with cameras and microphones began rushing toward the shuttle. Buck tried desperately to place his hands over as many of the lenses as he could.

"Please, no pictures," he said loudly above the noise of the hangar. "We're here on a secret mission from the emperor."

"Who are you," asked one of the reporters.

Ardala quickly made her way down the ramp. "Please put your cameras away," she ordered. "What he said is true. We are here secretly. No one is to know we are here. I will make a public statement as soon as we are allowed to. My father, the emperor, has tasked us with an important mission that requires the utmost secrecy. I must order you to put your cameras away or face immediate repercussions."

Quickly the reporters lowered their cameras.

"Good choice," Ardala commented. "Now, we must get to the palace. We have been travelling a very long time and we need to rest. I will contact you as soon as I have something to report. Good night."

Ardala quickly led the party across the hangar to the underground entrance of the palace. They followed her through the basement, up a flight of stairs, and into a large foyer on the main floor of the palace where several servants immediately rushed to attend to the princess.

"Victor, show our guests to the VIP chambers," Ardala ordered.

"Can we take the medallion to your tutor first?" Buck asked.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, right." She stepped up to Lach'et. "I need the medallion."

Lach'et paused for a moment. "Of course," she said as she reached inside her shirt. She handed the medallion to Ardala.

"Victor, show them to their chambers. Captain Rogers and I will take this to Buffin's study."

"I want to come with you," Lach'et objected. "I want to know what it says too!"

Buck nodded. "It _is_ her medallion."

Ardala sighed. "Very well. We will all go to see Buffin. Come, his study is this way. Victor, you can come too."

"Yes, Princess."

She led the way up another set of stairs and down a maze of hallways to a large, wooden door. She reached for the handle and opened the door. Inside the large room was an old man sitting at a desk covered haphazardly with books and papers. Bookshelves lined the walls of the room. The old man looked up from his studying.

"Princess Ardala!? How good to see you again! And you brought visitors! Come in, come in! What can I do for my prized student?"

Ardala entered the room and handed him the medallion. "We need this translated," she said, straight to the point.

The old man studied it briefly. "Yes, interesting," he mumbled. "I believe this is written in the ancient text of the Businetties."

Buck looked at him strangely. "Huh?"

The old man shook his head. He went straight to one of the bookshelves and pulled down a book. He rushed to his desk and opened the book and leafed through the pages. Almost inaudibly he mumbled as he fumbled through the pages.

"Doctor, can you translate it?" Ardala asked.

"What?" He looked up. "Oh, yes, definitely. It will take me some time, however. Come back tomorrow morning. This is exciting, indeed. I don't think I've ever seen a Businettie artifact so well preserved before!"

Again he lowered his head to study the medallion and the book.

"I suggest we leave and let him do his job," Buck said softly, so as not to disturb the old man.

Ardala nodded. "Yes, it is getting late. Victor, now you can show everyone to their respective chambers and make sure they are all well fed."

"Yes, Princess. Please, come this way."

The butler started down the hall, followed by Minar, Twiki, and Lach'et. Buck started to follow, but was halted by Ardala's hand on his arm. "You come with me, Buck," she smiled.

Twiki stopped long enough to turn around to face Buck. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: don't do anything I wouldn't do, heh heh."

Lach'et turned to give Ardala a dirty look, but decided against saying anything. Buck watched everyone go down the hall for a moment. Ardala tucked her arm inside of his. "Come, Buck. You have got to be exhausted. Saving the life of a princess is tiring, but it does have its perks! Aren't you tired and hungry?"

"I am hungry… and tired."

"Then come."

Still he hesitated outside the study door. Ardala gently nudged him in the direction she wanted him to go. "Come on, Buck. There's nothing to do here. Buffin will let us know when he's done translating. I promise I'll behave myself."

"You promise?"  
She smiled seductively. "I promise. Now come on." She ran her hand across his face. "You look like you need a shower and a shave, too. I have everything you need."

Buck looked deeply into her eyes and finally nodded. "No funny business," he said.

She held her hands up in the air. "You can tie me up if you don't trust me."

He shook his head as he started to walk. "No, you'd probably like that too much."

She giggled girlishly. "Oh, Buck. You know me too well!"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ardala rolled over and reached across the bed for Buck. When she didn't feel him, her eyes opened and quickly scanned the room. "Buck?" she called softly. When no one answered, she called again a little louder. Again no one answered. She jumped out of bed. "Buck?" she called again loudly.

"Out here," came a muffled voice.

She quickly looked around the room until she found the open patio door. She quickly crossed the room and rushed out onto the patio. She found Buck sitting in a lounge chair, with his feet propped up on another chair. He was sitting next to the railing overlooking the wide, expansive ocean. Buck seemed to be staring blankly across the water.

"There you are," she said softly as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. She approached him slowly. "You had me concerned when I couldn't find you."

"Of what?" he asked blankly. "Afraid I might skip out on you in the middle of the night?"  
Ardala gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "You've done that to me before."

Buck looked up briefly, then back down. "Oh, right. But that's because you were getting ready to attack Earth."

"Ancient history."

Buck looked at her from the corner of his eye as she sat down beside him in another lounge chair. "Right," he said sarcastically.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked sincerely.

Buck hesitated, shrugged his shoulders. "I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to disturb you, so I came out here to think."

She nodded as a sudden chill ran through her in the cool morning air. "Aren't you chilly?" she asked.

Buck chuckled. "After crashing in the mountains of Bertram and everything we had to do just to make it to town, this weather is like paradise."

She smiled as the sounds of the waves gently lapping the beach below reached their perch. She leaned back in the lounge chair and stared out across the water where Buck was looking.

"Besides," Buck continued. He pointed to the different colored streaks just beginning to race across the morning sky. "It's been a long time since I've seen a sunrise, I mean a _real_ sunrise. A really long time."

She nodded knowingly. "I understand." The two sat in silence for a moment before she looked over at him again. "It must be hard on you."

His head jerked slightly to face her. He cocked his head to one side. "What?"

"Being so far from home…, in more ways than one."

He nodded once, closed his eyes and leaned his head back into the chair. "I'd like to say you get used to it… but you don't."

She reached out her hand to take his. He did not resist as their fingers clasped around each other. "I think I'm finally beginning to understand you a little bit, Buck."

"What do you mean?" he asked without even opening his eyes.

"Oh, how you always act so casual, nonchalant, sarcastic; it's all just a cover. When someone tries to get close to you, you suddenly put up a wall and you become sarcastic and aloof."

"You don't know what you're talking about. I have a lot of friends here."

"I don't think you do. You have a lot of acquaintances, but I don't think you have any true friends, except maybe for your drone. I think you're afraid to make really close friends and bonds. You're afraid of letting yourself get too close to someone. You're afraid of losing them like you've lost everyone you've ever known before."

Buck opened his eyes, but did not look at Ardala. Instead he continued to stare at the sliver of a sun just beginning to peak above the surface of the water. "Who are you? Sigmund Freud?"

"And that's why you always like to keep so busy," she continued, not bothering to figure out the garbled translation of a name she'd never heard before. "Oh trust me, I know about all the little missions that Doctor Huer has sent you on. You're never home for more than three days at a time, and when you are home, you're rarely ever alone."

He checked Ardala out of the corner of his eyes. "Checking up on me?"

"Maybe," she smirked.

"Okay, so what's it all mean? What's your diagnosis, Doc?"

She hesitated for a long minute. "I believe that you are trying to keep yourself busy so you don't have time to remember everything you've lost. When you're on a mission, your mind is focused on completing your mission. When you're with your friends your mind is preoccupied with your friends. But when you're alone… that's when the memories come back. Memories of friends, loved ones, family."

Buck glared at her for only a moment before turning away. They lapsed into a long bout of silence. At last Ardala broke the silence again.

"Tell me about Earth… your Earth."

"Why? It's never going to come back."

"That's where you're wrong, Buck. It will come back… every time you let it. There's nothing wrong with remembering the past. It's what makes us what we are. We can't change the past. All we can do is change the present to make the future better."

"You sound like a fortune cookie," he muttered.

She shrugged her shoulders. "See, I don't know what you're talking about. I just want to get to know you better. I'm curious about you and your history. Tell me a little about you, your past, your family."

"Is that an order from the Princess?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just a request… from a friend."

Buck looked at her and started to say something, but something in her eyes stopped him. They were not the eyes of the princess he'd grown accustomed to. They were the eyes of someone different, someone who was genuinely interested. He squeezed her hand with his once, then nodded and looked back to the water.

"I grew up in the city of Chicago, but it was nothing like New Chicago is now. It was cold most of the time, windy, snowy. Not as bad as Bertram, but nothing like it is here. Sure it was hot in the summer, hot and sticky. But it was home. You got used to it. Earth had a lot of different climates. There was a place I was stationed briefly, Hawaii, they called it Paradise. This place reminds me a lot of that. Then there was Alaska, which was a lot like Bertram. A difference of a hundred miles meant a different climate. We had rain forests, deserts, big oceans, frozen wastelands. In fact, Chicago was one of the biggest cities on Earth, millions of people living in a small area, but if you went outside the city a hundred miles, and you would see miles and miles of nothing but corn fields. Earth was far from perfect, but it was everything to me.

"We had lakes to swim in, rivers to fish in, forests to hunt in, mountains to climb." His eyes closed for a moment. "Ahh, the mountains."

Ardala smiled at the look on contentment on Buck's face, but he didn't notice. He seemed to be lost in the moment.

"I went to school at the Air Force Academy. You talk about mountains."

Ardala put her other hand on top of their already clasped hands. "What about your family?"

Buck nodded. "I had a mom and a dad, of course. They were both proud when I decided to go the school at the Air Force Academy. I played football there. I was a linebacker. I had a brother who played football, too. He was older than me. He played professional for a couple years. Won a Super Bowl his rookie year, back in '79. Everyone told me I could have played professional too, but I had other ideas. I was an ROTC at the academy. When I graduated, I went straight into the Air Force as an officer. As soon as I was eligible, I applied to NASA to become an astronaut. They turned me down three times before I finally made it in. My dad was so proud when I finally became an astronaut. My mom wasn't so happy. She said that being an astronaut was too dangerous." He paused for the longest moment and his face turned blank again. "I guess she was right."

Ardala said nothing. Gently she stroked the back of his hand until Buck was ready to speak again.

"Sorry," he apologized as he wiped his face with his bare hand.

Ardala shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about. If you hadn't become an astronaut, you'd be…" she caught herself and simply let her voice trail off into the cool morning air.

"Dead," Buck finished. "I know. Sometimes I wonder why of all the people in the history of the world, I was the one chosen to live."

"Somebody knew what he was doing?"

Buck paused again. "There's a saying we had; everything happens for a reason."

"I like that saying."

"Why?"

"It means that there is a reason you were sent to rescue me from Bertram. There is a reason we're sitting here right now talking. There is a reason you were spared the holocaust on Earth. Don't fight fate… embrace your fate and run with it. Don't question the universe."

Buck pulled his hand away and stood up rapidly. He leaned against the railing and turned to face the princess. "Stop it," he said firmly. "Just stop it."

Ardala's eyes furrowed into a frown. "Stop what? What am I doing?"

"You're being nice to me. You're playing on my emotions to get something out of me. I know how you operate."

She held up her hands to her face. "I swear I'm not trying to play you. There is no ulterior motive here. I am simply trying to get to know you better."

"Why?"

She sighed. "Because I love you, Buck. Don't you know that by now?"

He turned around to face the water. "Yeah, but I've seen the end of this play."

"What are you talking about?"

He shook his head, continued to watch the sun come up. "Right now everything's all cozy, cozy. We're on the same side and everything's all hunky dory. But even you have to know what's going to happen if your partial translation of the medallion is correct."

"What?"

"If this medallion leads us to an ultimate weapon, you know my obligation is to destroy it before your father can get his hands on it. He's powerful enough without some ultimate weapon, but if he gets something more powerful than what he's got now, Earth and the rest of the galaxy is in danger. I can't let him have it if it's within my power."

The princess stood and headed for the inner chambers. Just before she reached the door, she stopped and turned around. "I know. I've already thought about that and I've run every scenario through my mind."

"And what's the solution?" Buck asked without turning around.

She turned toward the door. "You mean too much to me. I won't stop you."

Buck whirled around but Ardala quickly disappeared into the room.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Buck came out of the bathroom to see Ardala holding an armful of clothes. "What's this?" he asked.

"I asked my staff to come up with some clothes you could wear while we're here. You must be getting tired of wearing what you've had on for the last few days."

He nodded, accepted the pile of clothes. "Thank you. That was very thoughtful."

"I'm going to go to Buffin's study. Meet me there when you change."

Buck watched her go. Many thoughts were racing through his mind. Finally he shook his head violently to clear his head. "No," he mumbled to no one. "She's up to something."

He went back inside the bathroom to change.

He entered the study to see Ardala sitting at the desk. He looked around briefly. "Where is the old man?"

"He left a note. He had to go to town to get another book. It's taking longer that he thought. He says it'll probably take another day to translate."

"Great," he said sarcastically. "Well, let's go get some breakfast then."

She agreed and they left the room. They'd only gotten a few steps before Minar came running down the hall, followed by a much slower Twiki. "Lach'et is gone!" Minar announced rapidly.

"What?" Buck asked incredulously. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. We asked around and the staff said she left about an hour ago."

"She's probably heading into town to look for her brother. I wish she would've waited for us, but I don't really blame her for getting a head start. Well, let's all go downstairs and get something to eat. We'll go looking for her when we're done."

After breakfast, Buck sent Minar and Twiki back upstairs to wait for Buffin to return. He tried to send Ardala too, but she refused to let Buck go to town without her. Finally he relented and they both left the palace grounds. They had only gotten ten feet outside the palace gates before a man stepped out from behind an alcove.

"Excuse me, sir," he said.

Buck instantly brought his hands up in a defensive stance. The man raised his arms from the elbows up. "I am unarmed."

"What do you want?"

"You are the ones who came in last night… you had a medallion in your possession."

Buck cocked his head to one side. "How do you know?"

"I… was watching a program on the vids last night when they interrupted the show with a brief newsflash. Apparently it's a big deal when the Draconian princess shows up, no offense, Princess," he said as he gave a partial bow.

She ignored the comment. "Go on," Buck said.

"The interruption was only a minute, or so, but it was enough for me to see that woman drop the medallion and quickly stuff it back inside her shirt."

"So?"

"That is the same medallion I sent back to B'Linta to my sister."

Buck smiled and his eyes lit up. "So you're Lach'et's brother?"

"Yes! You know Lach'et?"

Buck cocked his head to one side, furrowed his brows. "Yeah. She's the one who dropped the medallion."

The man shook his head. "No, that was not Lach'et. I don't know who she is. I've never seen her before."

"You're kidding?" Ardala said hopefully.

"No. That woman who came with you here to Remian Four is NOT my sister."

"But she said…" Buck's voice trailed into the distance. "Oh, great. This keeps getting better and better. If she's not your sister, then who is she?"

He shrugged. "I do not know. If she told you she is my sister, she is an imposter."

"I found her in a bar in B'Linta," Buck said. "She said that her name was Lach'et and that you were being hunted by the B'Lintan Secret Forces. And she showed me the medallion and gave me the story that you were here and were in trouble."

"I am in trouble, but not from the B'Lintans. The Draconians are after me, no offence to the Princess."

Buck waved for the man to follow. "Let's get back inside the palace walls. It'll be safer than talking out here in the street."

Buck led the man inside the palace grounds where they stopped near the front door. Then he turned to face the man.

"If the B'Lintans aren't after you, then why were there two men in B'Lintan Secret Force uniforms looking for you?"

"I don't know… wait a minute, was one of them an older guy, with a mole on his chin, a scar on his cheek, and a big nose?"

"Yeah."

The man nodded. "He was looking for me for a personal reason. I owe him some money. See, I like to play ten and eleven."

Buck smiled slightly. "Okay. By the way, what's your name?"

"Biron."

"I'm Buck, and this is Ardala."

"Hello. By any chance do you still have the medallion?"

"It's inside," Buck indicated the palace. "We're having it translated right now. How much do you know about it?"

"Not much," he admitted. "Enough to know it could be very dangerous for the galaxy if someone gets his hands on where it leads."

Buck nodded. "Yeah, we know about the supposed 'ultimate weapon' inscripted on the medallion. So where did you get the medallion?"

Biron hesitated. "I…I'd rather not say."

"I figured. We can discuss that later. First I want to verify your story before we all get duped."

"Duped?"

Buck nodded. "Come with me. Ardala, is there a computer terminal somewhere that we can do a background check on Biron here?"

"Yes, of course. This way."

They followed Ardala through the foyer and into a small room just off the entrance to the grand ballroom. "This is the chief of security here in the palace."

A man looked over at them. On the wall beside and behind him were dozens of monitors showing nearly every hallway and room of the palace and grounds. "Morning, Princess," he said as he turned back to his monitors.

"Newtrino, I need you to do a background check of someone. Actually of two someones."

"Your wish is my command," he said.

"This man here claims to be Biron…" she looked at him questioningly.

"Hillanby," he finished.

Ardala nodded. "He claims to be Biron Hillanby of B'Linta."

"I am a research archeologist at the National University of B'Linta at Docker."

"Docker?" Buck asked.

"That's the name of the city."

"Right."

Newtrino took a moment to enter the information into his computer. When he was finished, he looked back up. "And the second?"

"The woman who came in with us last night," Ardala said forcefully. "She was using the name of Lach'et Hillanby, Biron's brother."

Newtrino brought up video from the night before and quickly scanned it until he captured a good close up image of Lach'et. He nodded, and began to type the information into his computer. Buck tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can I get a printout of that picture?"

"Sure."

He tapped a button and almost instantly retrieved a color image from a slot beside him. He handed it to Buck. "Thanks."

"What for?" Ardala asked.

"I want to take it into town to see if anyone's seen her."

"Good thinking."

Newtrino tapped Buck on the arm. "There's your girl now."

Buck looked at the monitor to see Lach'et coming through the front gates. He quickly turned and began to run through the foyer. Biron and Ardala rushed after him. They reached the front door before Lach'et could get halfway up the path. She looked up to see Buck, Biron, and Ardala moving quickly in her direction.

She reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a small, spherical object. She threw it down on the sidewalk. Suddenly everything turned black for nearly twenty seconds. When the smoke cleared, she was nowhere to be found. Buck swore silently to himself.

"We have to go after her," Ardala said excitedly.

Buck placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from moving toward the gate. "We will. Let's get Biron inside first. Don't worry," he said with a determined look on his face. "We'll find her. We'll find her."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Doctor Huer looked up to see Wilma stepping through the door. She came in and went straight to the front of the desk. "Good morning, Doctor Huer," she said cheerfully. "Theo," she indicated the box on the desk. "You sent for me?"

"Yes, I did," Huer said. "There is someone here who wishes to speak with you directly."

Her eyes narrowed, then followed his gaze to the door. Just as the door closed, a man stepped from behind and stepped into the center of the room.

"Kane?"

"Colonel Deering," he said.

Wilma turned back to the desk to face Huer. "What's he doing here?"

"I am here because your Captain Rogers is not," Kane announced.

"Huh?"

"I received a transmission from the Princess Ardala. Captain Rogers was successful in retrieving her from the planet of Bertram as requested. However, he has not yet turned her back over to me."

"Well he didn't bring her back here, if that's where you're looking."

"Yes, I know they are not here, Colonel Deering. I came here looking for your help."

"My help?" she asked incredulously.

"Believe me it wasn't easy to come here again. It was hard enough to come here the first time to seek the aid of Captain Rogers. To come here again to ask for your aid is much harder."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. The answer is no."

"Please, Colonel Deering," Theopolis interrupted. "Please hear out the commander."

She folded her arms and sat down on the edge of the desk. "Fine. I'll hear him out. Then I'll turn him down."

"I don't believe you will," Kane said. "I believe Captain Rogers has taken the princess somewhere, but I don't know where. I was hoping you might have an idea where he may have taken her since you know him much better than I do."

"Why should we help you?"

"I know that Captain Rogers has the princess somewhere. She told me as much in her transmission. If I were to tell the Emperor Draco that his first daughter and heir to the throne has been kidnapped by a Terran Captain, it would not bode well for Earth. I know Captain Rogers made a transmission and sent it to you. We intercepted it, but were unable to unscramble its contents."

Wilma nodded, glanced at Huer. "Yes, he did send us a transmission," Huer admitted. "But he didn't say much."

"That's true," Wilma chimed in. "You know how Buck talks sometimes. He was pretty cryptic about not saying too much. The only thing we could figure out is Buck needed Princess Ardala to help him get inside Draconian territory."

Kane looked disgusted. "That doesn't exactly help me pinpoint the Princess's location."

"Deep… inside Draconian territory," Wilma continued.

"Deep… inside…? Of course! He needed the stargate access code. Which means he's somewhere inside the inner core."

"Precisely," Theopolis said. "After that, we have as much information on Captain Roger's whereabouts as you do."

Kane nodded, turned to go. "Thank you. You have been very helpful."

Wilma jumped off the edge of the desk. "Wait a minute, where do you think you're going now?"

"Back to my ship, of course. I need to begin my search for the Princess."

"Not so fast. I'm coming with you."

Huer looked at her questioningly. "Colonel?"

Kane whirled around. "Absolutely not! That is completely out of the question. Why would I allow you to accompany me inside the inner core of Draconian space?"

Wilma cocked her head to one side. "Because if Emperor Draco found out that you came to Earth, of all places, to find someone to rescue his eldest daughter and heir to his throne because your security measures were inadequate to prevent her from becoming kidnapped by the Bertram, that would not bode well for your… political career."

Kane's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

He quickly thought it over for a moment, nodded. "Very well. Meet me in the hangar in ten minutes."

"Make it twenty."

He huffed, then turned and walked out the door. Wilma turned to face Doctor Huer.

"Colonel, do you think this is wise?" he asked.

"If Buck is inside the inner core with Princess Ardala, he's going to need my help. We know what she's like, and we know we can't trust her as far as we can throw her. Who knows what she's up to? We all know what she's capable of. Who knows what she's got him doing?"

"Yes, yes, I know. I've thought about that as well."

"This could be an excellent opportunity for us," Theopolis said.

"How so?"

"We have never had an operative inside the inner core," Theo explained. "Any information we can gather would be beneficial."

"But I can't authorize anything of this magnitude," Huer argued.

"You don't have to," Wilma said. "I have some vacation time coming to me, don't I, Doctor?"

"Yes, you have a lot of vacation time. You never take any time off on your own. We usually have to make you take time off."

"Then consider me on vacation."

Huer nodded. "Very well. Just do me one favor, though."

"What's that?"

"Take Doctor Theopolis with you. I believe he will be a great asset to you, and to Buck if you can find him."

Wilma nodded. "As Buck would say, wish me luck!"

She picked up Theo and rushed out the door. Doctor Huer frowned, sat back down. "Good luck."

Lach'et tapped a button on her monitor and waited for several moments. Finally a man's face appeared. He smiled at her. "Ahh, I was just thinking of you. Were you successful in your mission?"

She shook her head once. "No, Emperor Draco. My cover has been blown. I was unable to assassinate the B'Lintan before he got to the palace."

His eyes narrowed. "Did you say palace? Why would he go there if he knows we're after him?"

"Your daughter is there with a man. I don't know who he is or where he is from, but he is protecting the B'Lintan and pretty much telling your daughter what to do."

"Which one of my daughters?"

"Ardala."

The emperor sighed heavily. "Does this man have a name?"

"Yes. Buck Rogers."

He shook his head. "Of course."

She looked bewildered. "You know him?"

"I know of him. He is trouble. Big trouble. Do you at least have the medallion?"

"No. The princess took it to the palace to get it translated."

"Of course she did," he said as he rolled his eyes.

"What do you want me to do with Rogers?"

"Eliminate him," he ordered without hesitation.

"What about the princess?"

Draco took a deep breath and slowly released it. "No one is going to stand in my way or prevent me from getting this ultimate weapon of the Bisonetties. I am getting tired of Ardala countermanding my orders for her own personal gain. If she wants a fight on her hands with me, then she'll have one. If my daughter gets in the way and refuses to get out of the way, deal with her in any way you see fit."

Lach'et nodded once. "As you wish, Emperor."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Ardala led Biron into the palace and to a room where he could rest. Once he was introduced to Minar and Twiki, Ardala grabbed Buck's arm.

"Now let's go get that lying _furkle_."

Buck squinted slightly, but decided not to ask for the translation. He reached for her shoulder just as she turned around but missed and only got the fabric of her outfit.

"Not dressed like that, you don't."

"What do you mean? This is one of my best outfits," she argued.

"Exactly. If you're coming to town with me, you need to dress a little… less provocative, if you know what I mean. We're not going to some royal ball."

"Why?"

"Because where I'm going the Draconian princess wouldn't be caught dead going," Buck explained. "I need you to dress more… common so you won't be recognized."

"But I don't have any common clothes."

"Then borrow some from one of your staff. And hurry up. And when we do go out, let me do all the talking."

"But why?"

"Because you talk like the princess. Now hurry up and get dressed. We're burning daylight."

After three inspections, Buck finally gave his approval of Ardala's outfit. They left the palace and went down the street toward the train station. Buck showed the picture of Lach'et to several people before finding out she had taken the train to the downtown area. They quickly bought a ticket from the counter and boarded the train.

They entered the first bar they could find as soon as they exited the train. Even though it was still late morning, the interior of the bar was dim and foreboding. Only a few people occupied tables scattered throughout the bar, and even fewer sat at the bar itself. Buck picked a booth table near the door and indicated Ardala to have a seat.

"I'll go to the bartender and try to get some information. You stay here."

"But—"

"I'll be right back, I promise. Oh, and if anyone tries to hit on you, turn him down politely. The last thing I need is you making a scene and starting a bar fight."

"I wouldn't do anything like…" Buck looked at her with a serious look on his face. She nodded. "Yes, I would. Okay, Buck. I'll be good. I promise."

Ardala watched Buck amble across the bar. He sat down on a barstool and waited for the bartender to finish pouring another customer a drink. Finally the gray-haired old man came down toward Buck.

"What can I do for you, sir?" he asked.

Buck laid several chips on the bar along with a picture. "I'm looking for a woman."

The old man glanced across the bar to the booth where Ardala was sitting and staring out the window. "If I was with a beautiful woman like that, I wouldn't be looking for another woman unless of course she was a total _furkle_."

Buck smiled politely and shook his head. That was twice he had heard the same swear word untranslated. "That's not what I meant," he said.

The old man chuckled, nodded as he took the picture. "I know." He examined the picture intently for a full minute. Finally he gave it back to him. "Sorry, son. I haven't seen her. Might I ask why you're looking for her?"  
Buck hesitated. "She… took something that didn't belong to her."

"Of course," the old man said. He bobbed his head toward Ardala. "I saw how she watched you come up here…, and how she looked at you when you two walked in."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Buck denied.

The old man smirked. "What's your name, son?"

"Buck."

"Well, Buck, they call me Pops, around here. Ever been married?"

"Nope," Buck shook his head. "Came close once… a long time ago."

The old man rubbed his chin. "I was married once. I used to be in love with this beautiful woman too, kind of looked like her," he indicated Ardala. "Too bad they weren't the same woman!"

Buck grinned politely. "What happened?"  
Pops set his elbows on the counter, leaned closer to Buck. "I used to be a young man like yourself. When I was about your age, there was this beautiful woman I was madly in love with, and she loved me too. Her name was Anoya. Now don't get me wrong, she wasn't perfect. She had her … rough side, but who doesn't? Course, I wasn't exactly perfect either. I did some things that weren't… well, let's just say I did some things I'm still not too proud of. She left me and I never saw her again.

"Eventually I found another woman and got married, but I never forgot about Anoya. I let it affect my marriage and my life. Finally one night I came home from work and realized that my wife was gone. The worst part about it is, I found out later that she'd been gone for about two weeks and I never noticed. I guess it was probably because I'd been gone for a lot longer."

"I don't mean to be rude, Pops, but do you have a point?"

"Life is short, Son. You have a woman there who is madly in love with you. She easily loves you more than anything else. She would never cheat on you or leave you."

Buck glanced at Ardala who was now looking at them. She noticed them both looking at her, so she seductively waved toward Buck. He waved back absently, then turned back to the old man. "But what if she can be a real … _furkle_?"

Pops burst into laughter. "Aren't they all sometimes?"

Buck chuckled slightly. "I suppose you're right. Hey, let me ask you something. Is it possible for someone to… change into something totally different?"

The old man stopped laughing immediately. "Oh, definitely… if they meet the right person."

Now Buck scratched his chin. "She has been acting awfully… different the last couple of days. It's almost as if she's becoming a different person. I almost don't recognize her anymore."

"Under the right conditions, and when the right person comes around, it's amazing the changes someone can make. The right man can turn even a royal _furkle_ into the nicest woman you'd ever want to meet."

Buck's head jerked ever so slightly when Pops said the word 'royal', but the old man showed no sign of noticing or of intent. Buck turned to look at Ardala again who was once more looking out the window. "But what if I'm the right man for her but she's not the right one for me?"

Pops shrugged. "Now that's the question of the hour, isn't it? It happens, sometimes. Love is full of sacrifices and compromises, both good and bad. But true love is strong. Some would gladly give up anything… ,even the throne, if the right person came around."

Buck's head jerked again as he lowered his voice. "You know?"

"Knew who she was the minute she walked in here," he said in a hushed voice. "But don't worry, her disguise is a good one. You'd really have to have the right vision to notice her, and then to recognize her. Not many people have that kind of vision, anymore. It's a lost art. I may be old, but these eyes don't miss much. I see things no one else can."

"Are you psychic? Or an empath?"

"Don't need to be," he shook his head. "I recognize love when I see it. I saw it once before… a long time ago…in another time and another place. I can see how much she truly loves you. I honestly believe she would give up everything she knows to be with you, including the throne of Draconia."

"And what do you see with me?" Buck wondered.

The old man narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow. "You, my friend, are much harder to read. But I can see that you carry with you a great deal of sorrow. Something has happened in your past, I don't know what, but you place the brunt of the blame upon yourself unfairly. You keep bringing the past up in the back of your mind and it's interfering with your inner eye."

"My inner eye?"  
"You are capable of great, unboundless love, but you are hesitant to trust yourself. You are denying your true feelings in order to protect yourself. You keep beating yourself up over something in your past. Whatever it is, you need to find it and let it go before it eats you up and devours your soul. Then you'll become a heartless, bitter old man… like me," he smirked.

Buck shook his head "Are you sure you're not psychic? She was saying something similar to that just this morning."

"Nope, don't need to be psychic. I've just been around a long, long time and I've seen just about everything under the sun. Now you can take my advice… or you can just consider me a rambling, bumbling old fool. I've been called worse, probably rightfully so, in some cases!"

Buck grasped the picture of Lach'et and tucked it back inside his shirt pocket. He glanced back at Ardala who was now looking out the window again. Once more he turned to face the old man.

"Thanks, Pops."

"Can I get you a drink? I am a bartender, after all and this is a bar."

Buck thought for only a moment. "Yeah. Give me an aurora for the lady and I'll take a beer."

"You got it."

He moved with amazing efficiency. In a flash, he handed Buck two glasses. Buck reached into another pocket for a couple credits, but the old man shook his head.

"The drinks are on the house… and so is the advice."

Buck nodded. "Thanks… for both."

Buck carried the drinks to the table and set the mixed drink in front of Ardala. She smiled as Buck sat down across from her.

"You two had a nice, long conversation," she quipped. "So what did you two talk about this whole time?"

"Mostly you," Buck grinned.

"Really?"

Buck chuckled. "No, not really," he lied. "He was telling me a story about someone he knew a long time ago. It was pretty interesting."

"So did he recognize the picture?"

"The picture?" Buck questioned.

"Yes, the picture of Lach'et! You did show it to him, didn't you? It's the reason we're here, after all!"

Buck's face lit up. "Oh, right, the picture! Yeah, I showed it to him. He didn't recognize her."

Ardala's shoulders slumped. "You were there so long I was hoping he was telling you where to find her."

"No, but don't get discouraged yet. It wasn't very likely to get lucky in the first place we stopped. We'll finish these drinks and then try the next bar. Don't worry, we'll find her sooner or later."

When Buck and Ardala finished their drinks, they rose to leave. Buck waved at the old man who was busy pouring a drink for one of the new customers who had just walked in.

"Thanks, Pops… for everything."

"Take care, Son. See you around."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Midmorning quickly became afternoon and then evening. Every bar Buck and Ardala tried turned into a dead end. The sun had long set when they stepped into yet another bar. Buck led her to a table near the bar. He went up to the bartender with the picture and the standard bribe of credits, but came up short yet again. He came back to the table with a couple drinks.

"Let me guess," she said hollowly. "Nothing again."

Buck let his hand fall on top of hers atop the table. "Nothing. I'm beginning to think she's a ninja. Nobody is this town's ever seen her."

Just then three rough looking men entered the bar and moved through the crowd to find seats at the counter near Buck and Ardala. One of them slammed his fist into the counter angrily.

"Those damned Draconian, imperial _tidiouts_! I wish they would all die!"

Ardala perked up her head. "What did he say?"

She began to get up, but Buck held her down. "Don't," was all he said.

She sat back down, but continued to listen.

"You shouldn't talk like that round here!" said the second man.

"Oh, it's alright. Those _tidiouts_ never come down to this side of town."

"What did they do this time?"

"They impounded my cargo. Said I was hauling illegal, unauthorized contraband. They even threatened to lock me up and/or kill me if I didn't hand over my ship."

"What were you hauling?"

"Nothing illegal, I'll tell you that! I had a load of electronic trans-capacitant computer parts from Bidway Three. They said I planned to sell them on the black market! They're the reason I was hauling the parts in the first place! They contracted me to make this run! The greedy _tidiouts_ just didn't want to pay me for the cargo, so they took everything including my ship. Now I'm stranded here with no ship, and no credits, and no way to get back home. They're nothing but a bunch of dirty, corrupt, imperial _tidiouts_, the whole lot of them. Including that _furkle_ Princess Ardala."

"What's she got to do with your ship?"

"She's the one who told the imperials to impound my cargo instead of paying me! You know she's here on Remian, don't you? She came in last night. Every time she comes here, somebody gets screwed!"

"I didn't do anything!" Ardala whispered to Buck.

"Shhhh."

"How do you know it was her?"

"I saw her signature on the orders! She's just like her old man; looking out for nobody but herself and looking to screw the galaxy. All those Draconians are like that. They won't be happy until they ruin the whole galaxy, and then they'll end up killing everyone who isn't Draconian!"

"You think you got it bad," said the third man in the group. "You should see what the outer rim is like. If you think the inner core is bad, it's nothing compared to the atrocities I've seen out there. But it's so far away from us, we never hear about any of it. They've been known to slaughter whole civilizations just to steal their ore mines, or bomb entire planets just to kill one person who made a nasty comment on free radio. And you never hear anything about it because they own everything and they have their dirty fingers in every nook and cranny. And it all begins with Emperor Draco himself. He would put a contract out on his own daughter if she got in his way."

Buck took Ardala's hand and stood up. "Come on, let's go."

She didn't say a word as she followed him into the street. Once alone in the dim lights of the streetlamps, Buck placed his arm around the small of Ardala's back. She looked up into Buck's eyes. Tears were forming in her eyes. Buck reached up with his free hand to wipe them away.

"It's not true, is it?"

Buck looked away. He softly nudged her to move forward. Together they began to walk down the street. "I'm afraid so," he admitted. "I've seen some of what they were talking about… on the outer planets of Draconian territory."

"But I've never heard about anything like that before!"

"Maybe you're shielded from some of the more nasty things your father has been known or rumored to have done."

"And what about all the stuff he said about me? I've never authorized anything like that!"

"Apparently there is someone high up in the ranks here who knows when you're on the planet and he or she takes advantage of the fact that you're here to line their own pocket with credits. It happens a lot in business. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing."

She continued to look at Buck while he led her down the street. "Do people hate us that bad? Even me! They don't even know me!"

"I don't mean to offend you, Princess, but it's the way your father runs his 'business'. He is cruel, vindictive, and ruthless. When he conquers a world, he pretty much enslaves them. The only reason nobody rebels is that they're afraid of him and his armada. So people hate your father, you, your sisters, the royal court, and all of Draconia. They look at you and they see the same thing as your father. And no offense, but you've never done anything to dissuade them from feeling that way. They see you as just another extension of your father. When he dies, they know you'll take over and they're afraid that you'll be just like him."

"What do you suggest I do?"  
Buck shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been much of a political man. I do know a little something about history, anyway… at least ancient Earth history. We had our share of dictators and tyrants; Hitler, Nero, King Louis, Genghis Kahn, the pharaohs, Darth Vader… Every single dictatorship in my history was overthrown eventually by the people that they supposedly ruled. The best rulers in my history were the ones who had a sense of justice, respect, care for the people that they ruled."

"But I don't know how to do that."

"Sure you do. You just do what you feel is right for the people, not necessarily what's right for you."

"But that goes against everything that my father has tried to teach us."

Buck nodded. "Which is why everyone hates your father and you and Draconia. Come on, let's go to one more bar and then we'll call it a night."

Absently she allowed Buck to lead her into one last bar. Again he left her at a table while he went to talk to the bartender. This bar was teeming with inhabitants, so it took quite a long time for the bartender to get to Buck. He got the normal shake of the head and the obligatory couple drinks. By the time he neared the table, he could see a crowd of men surrounding the princess. He eased his way through the crowd and set the drinks on the table.

"Come on, Baby," said a large man in front of Buck. "I said we're going dancing."

"I don't think I can dance," Ardala slurred. "I've had a little… too much."

He put his hand on her shoulder to pick her up. "I said come on."

Buck quickly removed his hand from Ardala. "I believe the lady said NO."

"And who the _tidiout _do you think you are?"

"I'm the one the lady came here with," Buck said.

The big man laughed. "Well guess what, little man. Too bad she won't be leaving with you!"

"Touch her again and you'll be leaving on a stretcher," Buck threatened.

"Oh really? Who's going to put me on one? You?"

He began to swing his arm toward Buck's face. Before he could connect, however, Buck stomped on the big man's foot. He bent over and then Buck grabbed the back of the man's neck and rammed it into his rising knee. A man behind Buck tried to get a hold of his neck, but Ardala slammed the beer bottle into his head. Buck then slammed his elbow into the guy just to his right.

"Oh, that's worth five minutes!"

The original big man picked up a chair and threw it at Buck who ducked just in time to feel it fly over harmlessly. He threw a shoulder block into the man and slammed him against the wall. He then kneed him in the groin and slammed both fists into his exposed neck.

"That's a game misconduct," Buck quipped.

He turned around just in time to see someone rushing toward him. He caught the man with a flying kick which sent the man crashing into a table near the door. Soon everyone in the bar was throwing punches at someone. Buck waddled through the melee and grabbed Ardala who was trying to scratch somebody's face off.

"Come on, we need to get out of here before the cops come!"

Somehow they managed to make it to the front door, but as soon as they stepped onto the street, flashing lights pulled up to the bar. Buck rolled his eyes and moaned. Two officers grabbed Buck and Ardala while fifteen others went rolling into the bar.

"What's going on?" one of the officers asked.

Buck took a deep breath, hoped the cool night air would help him speak more coherently than he might otherwise. "Well, there is a monster of a man in there who doesn't know how to take a 'No' from a lady. He assaulted her and I stepped in."

The officer rolled his eyes. "Take them both in."

Buck shook his head. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

"And why not?"

He waved his head toward Ardala who was swaying beside a light pole. "You know it's a real shame when even the police don't recognize the Draconian princess."

"Right," he said. "And I'm Emperor Draco. Come on, let's go."

Buck nudged Ardala. "Tell him who you are."

Ardala took a deep breath and mustered every ounce of regalness she could muster. "I…am the… Princess… Ardala," she slurred and swayed. "The…, hic, first hair…, whoa," she grasped the light pole to hold on. "The first… hair… of the Draconian, hic, hempire!"

Buck grinned and reached out to hold her up. "That's good enough, Princess."

The officer shone a flashlight into her face and inspected her closely. Suddenly his eyes widened and he took a step back. "Oh my god! She IS the Princess! Please, Princess Ardala, allow me to fly you back to the palace!"

Just then the other officers came out of the club with the three main offenders of the original brawl. "What are you going to do with them?" Buck asked.

"Well according to your account, they assaulted the Draconian Princess. They must be executed at once."

The big man jerked his head suddenly. "What? Princess? What?"  
Buck turned to Ardala. "Well, Princess. What do you suggest we do with them?"

She hiccupped. "Hex…hex...a cute…"

Buck nudged her gently. "Remember what we just talked about an hour ago?"

She swayed in Buck's arms as she tried to recall a conversation through the foggy haze that was her brain. At last she giggled, and hiccupped again. "Lock them up for the night," she managed to say. "Re…lease them… when… I sober up…, I mean when.. they sober… up, hic!"

The officer saluted. "As you wish, Highness. Now please, allow me to take you home."

"I beg your pardon," Ardala said in a huff. "Only Buck… can take me home!"

Buck smiled at the officer. "A ride back to the palace would be greatly appreciated."

The officer smiled in turn. "I understand."

The officer flew them to the palatial hangar. Buck then helped Ardala, practically carrying her through the basement, up the stairs, and to the bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed and covered her up with the comforter. She raised her hands up and clasped them behind his neck.

"Buck, Darling… don't leave me tonight… please."

He leaned over and gently kissed her. "I won't."

"Promise?"

He nodded. "I promise."  
She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Buck, don't leave me… ever."

He smiled and kissed her again. "Go to sleep, Princess. I'll see you in the morning."

She closed her eyes. "Buck… I love you."

He nodded knowingly. "I know. Now get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning. I'll try to find some alka seltzer for you."

But she never heard him. The last thing she remembered was 'sleep' before the darkness overtook her.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

It was mid morning before Buck woke up. He decided to take a quick shower and then go downstairs to the dining room. As soon as he stepped into the room, Twiki turned around.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Morning, playboy!"

Buck smirked and shook his head. "It's not what you think."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: heh heh…that's what they all say."

"Where is the princess?" Minar asked.

"She was just getting into the shower when I came down."

"The guy from the security desk came in a few minutes ago. He said the background checks have come in."

Buck glanced at Biron. "Great. We get to find out if you are who you say you are."

As soon as Ardala came downstairs, they all went to the security office. Newtrino looked up when he saw Ardala and Buck. He quickly stood and saluted the princess.

"I have the information you requested."

Ardala simply waved absently. "Give it to Buck," she almost whispered. "And try not to salute so loudly."

Newtrino cocked his head to one side, glanced at Buck. He grinned and leaned over to talk softly to the security officer.

"A couple too many auroras," he explained.

Newtrino nodded knowingly. "Been there." He sat back down and pulled up some information from his computer. A picture of Biron appeared on the monitor.

"This is Biron Hillanby. He is who he said he was. He is an archeologist at the National University of B'Linta at Docker. He has been listed as 'missing' for the past three months."

He brought up another picture and displayed it beside that of Biron. "This is his sister, Lach'et Hillanby."

Buck nodded. "Not the woman who came with us."

"No. This is the real Lach'et. B'Lintan authorities found her dead body about three days ago."

"No!" Biron cried. He slumped down into a nearby chair. "She can't be!"

The security officer shook his head. "I am sorry, sir. There can be no doubt. Preliminary reports suggest she may have been dead for two weeks before her body was recovered three days ago. They haven't determined a cause of death, yet."

The monitor went blank for a moment before a picture of the imposter Lach'et filled the screen. "This is the woman who assumed Lach'et's identity. I could not find anything on her through normal sources. I checked all security records available from every known world in both the inner core and the outer rim. I even checked records from planets that have no diplomatic relations with Draconia. She simply did not exist."

"How is that possible?"

"I asked the same thing. I had the idea that maybe my clearance wasn't high enough, so I gained access to Princess Ardala's clearance level code, I apologize Princess," he looked back at the slumping princess.

She just gave a backhand wave of her hand, closed her eyes again.

Newtrino tapped the computer and new picture popped up. Again he displayed the two pictures side by side. The second picture looked nothing like her picture as Lach'et. "Her name is Rapel Surnia. She is Arcturan, as far as I can tell. She is a master of disguise and a hired assassin."

Ardala opened her eyes partially to glimpse the picture. Suddenly her eyes opened fully and her demeanor picked up. "I know her! I've seen her before, in the royal courts of Draconia!"

He nodded. "I'm sure you have, Highness. She is Emperor Draco's Minister of Covert Operations, and one of his mistresses."

"No!"

"I'm afraid so, Princess. Apparently Emperor Draco gave her orders to assassinate both Biron and Lach'et."

"And when she couldn't find Biron, she assumed Lach'et's identity after killing her in order to get to Biron," Buck surmised.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what a _furkle_."

"Twiki, such language," Buck scolded.

"But why?" Ardala asked. "Why would my father want them dead?"

Biron stood up. "I may be able to explain that. I was hesitant to say anything before, what with the princess of the people who are trying to kill me here, and all. But I guess I don't have much choice anymore."

"Don't worry," Buck said. "We'll protect you. Ardala is one of us, now."

Ardala smiled sweetly. "You really think so, Buck?"

Buck indicated for Biron to explain. "My position as head archeologist of the National University allowed me to petition the Draconian Court for special permission to enter the inner core. I've been researching the origin of pyramids throughout the galaxy. No one has ever been able to explain why pyramids show up on nearly every civilized world in the know galaxy, both within the inner core and the outer rim, and planets not associated with Draconia. I have a working theory on that, which I'm not ready to reveal yet. But I had heard about the relatively new discovery of pyramids here on Remian Four, so I petitioned the court for special permission to come here and study them."

Ardala nodded once. "Yes, they were discovered about fifteen years ago on the southern continent."

"Yes. About six months ago I received my permission and I came to Remian Four."

"Is that where you found the medallion?" Buck asked.

He paused briefly before acknowledging. "Yes, it is. It is highly illegal to remove artifacts from the dig sites, especially without letting the proper officials know that you had found something. But when I found the medallion, I happened to be by myself for a brief period of time. I didn't recognize much of the inscription, but what I did scared me."

"The reference to the ultimate weapon?"

"Yes. Needless to say, I was intrigued… and afraid. I thought that if this medallion led to an ultimate weapon, then the Draconians should be the last people to know about it, especially Draco, no offense to the Princess."

Ardala sighed painfully. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"I wanted to study it some more, but it was too dangerous to keep it here with me. So I sent it in a package to my sister back on B'Linta so I could study it back at the university. I thought I had been extra careful, but somehow someone must have found out about it. I found my life in danger, so I had to disappear. I tried to warn Lach'et… but I guess this Rapel woman found her anyway."

"So Rapel killed your sister, took the medallion, then used me to get to Remian Four so she could finish you off," Buck deduced.

"I wish I'd never found that stupid medallion."

"If you hadn't found it, then someone else would have," Buck argued. "Then we'd all be in terrible danger. Speaking of, we should go see Buffin and see if he's done translating it yet."

"Wait," Newtrino said. "Princess, can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

"Why?"

"It's about… your security."

She nodded. Buck started to leave, but she grabbed his arm. "Buck, I want you to stay here."

Once everyone else was out in the hallway, Buck and Ardala turned to Newtrino. "I intercepted a coded transmission yesterday afternoon."

"What kind of coded transmission?" Buck asked.

He tapped a button and Emperor Draco's face appeared on the monitor. "A message from my father?"

"Not exactly. It was a message to your father. We were unable to unscramble the source of the message to him, but we were able to decode his replies. Here, listen."

He smiled. "Ahh, I was just thinking of you. Were you successful in your mission?"

A pause. His eyes narrowed. "Did you say palace? Why would he go there if he knows we're after him?"

A pause. "Which one of my daughters?"

A pause. The emperor sighed heavily. "Does this man have a name?"

A pause. He shook his head. "Of course."

A pause. "I know of him. He is trouble. Big trouble. Do you at least have the medallion?"

A pause. "Of course she did," he said as he rolled his eyes.

A pause. "Eliminate him," he ordered without hesitation.

A pause. Draco took a deep breath and slowly released it. "No one is going to stand in my way or prevent me from getting this ultimate weapon of the Bisonetties. I am getting tired of Ardala countermanding my orders for her own personal gain. If she wants a fight on her hands with me, then she'll have one. If my daughter gets in the way and refuses to get out of the way, deal with her in any way you see fit."

The screen went blank and Newtrino turned to face Ardala whose face had turned blank and white as a ghost. She turned her head slowly toward Buck. "I don't believe it!" she cried. "My father just told this woman to… kill…me!"  
Buck put both arms around her neck and pulled her close. "It won't happen," he promised. "I won't let it. I'll protect you."

She buried her head into his chest and sobbed for many long minutes. Finally she regained enough composure to stand on her own again. "You want to go lie down for a while?" Buck asked. "I can go see Buffin without you."

She shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "No, I'm okay. Let's go see Buffin. We need to find this weapon before my father does."

They exited the security office and joined everyone else in the hallway. "Beep-be-de-de-beep: what's wrong, Buck?"

"Nothing, Twiki."

Ardala nudged him slightly. "You can tell them. I'm over it."

"Are you sure? Okay. Emperor Draco has put a hit out on both me and Ardala."

"Your father wants to kill you?" Biron asked incredulously.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: that's cold."

"Yeah," Buck muttered. "Colder than Bertram in the middle of the night."

Minar nodded. "So what are we going to do about this?"

"Nothing changes," Buck said firmly. "We find this floating palace, and then the weapon. Then we deal with Draco. Right now we need to get to the study and see if Buffin is done with the translation."

They went up the stairs to the study and found the old man sitting at his desk. He looked up and his eyes immediately beamed with anticipation.

"There you all are," he said excitedly. "I have finished my translation!"

"Great!" Buck said. "What's it say?"

"This medallion gave me many problems, many problems. There are three languages, or dialects written here. This side is written in ancient Bisonettie language, which is what ancient Draconian is based upon. This side is also Bisonettie, but it is a different dialect, one that is more similar to ancient Bertram."

"Wait, you said there were three languages?" Minar asked.

"Yes. There is a third language here, it actually appears on both sides. I was unable to translate that part, but it appears to be unrelated to the actual location of the destination on the medallion."

"Destination?" Biron asked.

"Yes. This medallion is a road map. Here, let me give you what I have."

Search the Floating Palace when the moon is in the sun

When summer first turns to fall and the land below becomes cold

Read the map aloud to reveal the pyramid in the sea of sand

In the shadow of the valley of the four mountain peaks

Locked in another dimension the palace awaits

For the proper time to appear

But be prepared to face the enemy of ancient ages

If you wish to claim the ultimate weapon of the Businetties.

Buck cocked his head to one side. "That's great. Now what's it all mean?"

Buffin shook his head from side to side. "I wish I knew."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: back to the drawing board."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Everyone spent all day reading books in the study, or looking up information on computers in an effort to decipher the inscription's meaning. Finally, exhausted, Buck walked down the hall, through Ardala's bedroom, and out onto the patio. The sun had long since set. Even with the extended light pollution, Buck looked above the palace to the thousands of stars in the sky. He noticed a strong telescope in one corner of the patio. He stepped up to it and trained it on random star in the sky. He spent several hours perusing the night sky before he heard someone moving around in the bedroom.

"Buck?" a voice called from inside.

"Out here," he replied.

Ardala stepped onto the patio. "I should have known you'd be out here," she smiled softly.

Buck didn't acknowledge her. He simply continued to look through the powerful telescope. She stepped up to him gently. "What are you looking at?"

He shrugged, leaned away from the eyepiece. "Nothing in particular. I just like looking at the sky and stars… always have. I guess that's what made me want to be an astronaut. I always dreamed of visiting the stars I was looking at, and all of these stars are different than the ones I'm used to on Earth. It's funny, we never knew there were other people in the galaxy. Now I sometimes wonder if there are too many people up here."

"I can understand that. Especially when you have people like my father."

He nodded, placed a hand on her shoulder. "How are you doing about that?"

She shrugged. "It's not everyday you find out your own father wants you dead."

Buck sat down in a nearby chair and Ardala sat down beside him. "If you want, I could show you some of the stars around here."

"I don't suppose you can see Earth from here," Buck wondered.

"No, it's way too far away, even for that telescope."

"Yeah, I noticed this is a really good telescope. How strong is it?"  
A look of complete stupidity crossed her face. "I have no idea. I'm not very technical savvy, you may have noticed before."

Buck chuckled. "Yeah, I did notice that before. So, do you have any constellations around here? I was always interested in mythology when I was in school."

Ardala looked at the sky for a moment before pointing toward one particular cluster of stars. "See that red star there? And the blue one down and to the left? And then there's a triangle of white stars above them? Around here that is known as the constellation 'Knilong.' She was a princess."

"Like you?"

She smiled. "Sure, like me."

Buck followed her directions until he could see the outline of the stars. "Okay, I see something like looks a little like Orion. Okay, so what's her story?"  
"It's said that in ancient times, Knilong was a beautiful princess of a faraway land. She was in love with a peasant boy from another country, a boy named…" she hesitated. "A boy named Buck," she said with a gleam in her eye.

"Really?"

She shook her head. "No, really his name was Gahan. The king didn't like Gahan because he was at war with his country. Anyway, Knilong was kidnapped by a troll and taken away to the underworld where he enslaved her. The king was distraught and beckoned all of his knights to rescue the princess. He promised the knights that he who would rescue the princess would have her hand in marriage. Many of the knights tried, but no one was able to succeed. The peasant boy heard about the pledge of the king and embarked on a journey to rescue the princess without the king's knowledge. He descended into the cold underworld of the troll and rescued the princess. He returned her to the surface of the planet and sent word to the king that he had rescued her and he requested the hand of the princess. The king was furious to learn that this peasant boy had been able to rescue his daughter when all of his knights had failed. So the king sent word to Gahan that he would meet them and give his blessings. But the king instead told the troll where the princess and the peasant boy were hiding. When the troll came for the princess again, Gahan grabbed her hand and ran into the sky to the king's castle. When they reached the castle gates, the king met them and tried to kill Gahan. Knilong rushed to try to help Gahan but she bumped into her father, the king. He lost his balance and fell. He fell onto the troll who was still chasing Gahan and Knilong. Both the troll and the king fell to their deaths. Gahan and Knilong got married, their two countries became friends, and they became king and queen and ruled in peace for the rest of their lives. They had many children and peace ensued between the two nations for centuries immemorial. They had so many children that they had to make a new castle. The gods were so pleased that they took the original palace and placed it in the sky beside Knilong."

"That was a pretty cool story."

Ardala seemed pleased. "It's one of the few stories from Remian mythology I remember."

"Probably because it had a princess in it."

She smirked. "No, that's not it! Okay, maybe it is. Anyway, you see the rectangular shape of stars just to the left of Knilong?"

Buck inspected the stars again until he thought he saw what she was pointing to. "You mean this one here with a binary star in the lower left corner, and that dim one above it? It looks like there's a circle of stars above the rectangle."

"Yes, that's the one. That constellation is called the Celestial Palace. That's where Knilong and Gahan lived for evermore. And just below it is the center of the Milky Way. That circle of stars above the palace, that you noticed, is supposed to represent the sun giving its blessing over the palace and the union of Knilong and Gahan."

"Ahh, I was just looking at that cloud of stars, wondering if that's what that was. In ancient Egypt, they said the Milky Way looked like a river. When their kings died, they would be placed in a boat and float down river. That river supposedly ran into the Milky Way, so the kings would essentially float into the river of the sky."

"It's funny you should say that," Ardala said. "The ancient people here had a similar idea. It's said that when Knilong and Gahan died, their bodies were placed in a ship and sent into the sky to dwell in the palace the gods had put in the sky. That way they would always stay afloat above the 'waters' of the night sky, the Milky Way."

"Where is the constellation of Gahan?"

She pointed east, toward the water. "He hasn't risen yet, but he's on the other side of the palace."

"Oh. So the king and queen and the palace all float above the Milky Way."

"That is the story, anyway."

Buck fell into silence for a moment. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift. After several minutes of silence, Ardala bumped his shoulder. "Buck, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said hollowly. "I was just letting my mind float up into the palace."

She looked at him with strange look. "Did you say floating palace?"

"No, I said…" Buck sat straight up and stared into Ardala's eyes. He looked up into the sky and then back to Ardala. "Floating palace? Do you think it could…" he asked as his voice trailed off into the evening air.

"Search the floating palace when the moon is in the sun," Ardala repeated.

"When summer first turns to fall and the land below becomes cold. This planet has seasons, doesn't it?"

"Of course. It has summer, spring, winter, and autumn."

"Does something happen on the first day of fall?" Buck asked excitedly. "I mean with the night sky, the moon, the sun, something? Something special at all happen?"

She thought for a moment. "Yes, I believe it does. If I'm not mistaken, I believe on the first day of fall that the moon crosses the Milky Way after it passes through the Celestial Palace."

"Where does it cross the palace?" Buck urged.

She closed her eyes tightly and tried to remember. "Oh, it's been so long since I had astronomy class," she muttered softly. "If I remember right, I think it crosses right above the palace, where the circle of stars hangs above. Yes, at midnight the moon is completely encircled by the stars above the palace."

"And the circle of stars represents the sun, right?"

"Yes," Ardala said hollowly.

"When the moon is in the sun!" Buck said loudly.

Buck rushed back to the telescope and trained it on the moon hanging low in the east. He mumbled to himself for several minutes before he yelled loudly.

"What is it, Buck?"

He stepped away from the telescope. "Here, look at this!"

Ardala stepped up to the telescope's eyepiece. "Do you see it?" he asked. The moon is almost nothing but flat, barren sand except for…"

"Four mountain peaks… and they're all pretty close to each other!"

She turned away from the telescope. Buck gave her a big hug and a kiss. "We found the floating palace! It's on the moon!"

He quickly turned around and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to tell everyone we found the palace!"

Ardala rushed to block the doorway. "But it's late," she argued. "Can't they wait until morning?"

"But they're still looking."

"It's late; they've all given up for the night."

"But we need to get ready to go to the moon."

Ardala smiled seductively, ran her hand through Buck's hair. "It's waited this long, it can wait a few more hours. You can't go anywhere without a good night's rest."

She eased her lips onto his and began to kiss him passionately. It only took a brief moment before Buck responded to her advances. He picked her up and gently lay her on the bed.

After a long bout of kissing, Ardala ran her fingers along his cheekbone. "You didn't really do anything with Lach'et, I mean Rapel, did you?"  
Buck quickly shook his head. "No, we never had the time. I mean, it was always too cold…, I mean…, NO!"

Ardala giggled as she rolled over on top of Buck. She leaned down to press her lips close to his. "I didn't think so. I always knew you had better taste than that."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The incessant sound of something beeping kept interfering with Buck's sleep. He kept trying to reach over and hit the snooze button, but that didn't help. Ardala rolled over and put her hand on his bare chest.

"What is that sound?" she asked in a daze.

"I don't know," he mumbled. After another ten minutes, Buck finally regained enough of his senses to realize at last what the buzzing sound was.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

Buck leaned back into the pillow and closed his eyes. "Go away, Twiki."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

At last Buck sighed heavily and rolled his feet onto the floor. "What is it, Twiki? I'm trying to sleep!"

"There's someone here to see you."

He stumbled toward the door, rubbed his eyes. "Who is it?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'd rather not say."

He grabbed his pants and donned them as he walked to the door. "Can't it wait until morning?" he complained just as he opened the door.

"It _is_ morning," said a woman in a white flight suit.

Buck was instantly awake. "Wilma!" he said excitedly. "W-what are you doing here? H-how'd you get here?"

A man in a black uniform stepped out from behind an alcove. "That would be my doing."

Buck jerked his head to look at the new man. "Kane? Ahh, hi, how's it going?"

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Kane asked, looking past Buck and into the bedroom.

Buck followed his gaze for only a second. "Huh? Oh, wait, it's not what you think."

Wilma gave Buck a knowing smile. "Really?"

Buck smiled sheepishly. "Well, that part is, yeah. But we're actually here for a reason."

"I can see that," Wilma said, looking at Buck's bare chest.

"No, no, not that. We found the Floating Palace!" Buck said excitedly.

Wilma cocked her head. "The what?"

Buck waved his hands. "I can explain everything."

"Kane!" came a voice from the bed. Ardala sat up with a sheet covering her top. "I gave you direct orders to not look for me!"

"Yes, Princess, you did. And I chose to disregard those orders. You have placed me in a difficult position. Your father has been asking where you are for three days. Yesterday I ran out of excuses. He has even gone as far as put an APB out on our superfortress."

"Yes, well that is the least of my concerns."

"What do you mean?"

"The emperor Draco, my father, has put a death contract upon Buck and me."

"That's impossible. He would not condemn his own daughter and the heir to the Draconian throne to death."

Buck nodded once. "Yes, he would… and he did."

"Why would he do that?" Wilma asked.

"It's a long story," Buck started. "Let me start from the beginning."

Ardala loudly cleared her throat. "Can you all leave my chambers? I am not presentable for an audience!"

Buck smiled. "We'll be out in a minute!" he said as he closed the bedroom door.

Once Buck and Ardala were completely presentable, they met everyone in the dining room. Buck spent most of the morning explaining how he met Rapel/Lach'et, how he rescued Ardala, the story of the medallion and the floating palace, and pretty much everything that had transpired in the past few days, including their search for Rapel.

"You took the first princess of the Realm to a bar?" Kane asked incredulously.

"No," Buck answered dryly. "Actually I took her to about eight of them."

"The Draconian Princess should not be coerced into a common bar for no—"

"Oh shut up, Kane," Ardala snapped.

"Now that you're all caught up with what's been going on, we need to make a plan for our next actions. I'm going up to the moon to find that palace," Buck said. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't intend to let Draco get his hands on some ultimate weapon."

"I agree with Captain Rogers," Theo said.

"I'm with you, Buck," Wilma replied.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: me too!"

"Of course," Kane mumbled. "All the Earthlings are in agreement."

"You're an Earthling too, aren't you?" Buck asked rudely.

Kane gave him a dirty look, but didn't reply. "I happen to agree with Buck, too," Ardala announced.

"You would," Kane mumbled again.

"And since you are my assigned military advisor, Kane, I suggest you get on board with this plan," Ardala ordered.

"That's true," Buck replied. "This may be the only way to save the princess's life, and yours as well."

"How do you figure?" Kane questioned.

"You said yourself that Draco has put an APB out on your ship. Since Draco is looking for your ship, he is most likely looking for you as well. We know he is… disappointed with Ardala's actions…"

"That's putting it mildly," Twiki quipped.

"Your only course right now is to help us find this weapon and perhaps use it against him."

"I can not use it against my father," Ardala protested.

"I will not be an agent of deceit against the emperor," Kane seconded.

Buck shook his head. "I didn't say we were going to kill him. We can use this weapon as a bargaining chip for the safety of Earth, and possibly for your ascension to the throne."

"How am I to ascend to the throne if you're not planning on killing my father?"

"We can make him step down. Or you can use it to exile him, for the sake of the empire. You heard the people in the bars, the other night. There are so many people and worlds out there that are sick and tired of the Draconian realm. They want a change. You can stir them up and demand a change."

"What you're talking about is a civil war," Kane exploded.

"Not necessarily. What I'm talking about is trying to keep you and the princess alive. Right now we are ALL in his way of this weapon."

"We don't even know if there IS a weapon," Minar said. "Do we? All we have is what's written on a ten thousand year old medallion. How do we know that it really refers to an ultimate weapon? And if there is a weapon and the weapon is that old, how do we know it's still there? Or effective? If it's that old, it might just be antiquated technology that is worthless."

"True," Wilma said. "We don't even know if we're going to find anything."

"But this is an artifact of the Bisonetties," Buffin argued. "If it's from them, chances are good that it's genuine."

"Who are the Businetties?" Twiki asked.

"They are an ancient race that existed thousands of years before even the Draconians. They are perhaps the most ancient and technologically advanced civilization ever to exist in this galaxy. They are directly responsible for the colonization of hundreds of worlds, if not thousands. They are the reason there are so many humans in the galaxy."

"If they're so great, where are they now?" Minar asked.

Buffin shrugged his shoulders. "No one knows. Some theorize that they simply left the galaxy to journey to another, or a plague struck the galaxy and killed them off. But the point is, if this artifact is from the Bisonetties, it is most likely at least worth looking for. This medallion proves it! There are three languages on this thing! That shows you how influential they were!"

"But you said you only recognized two of the languages," Minar said.

"Yes. There is a third language which still eludes my studies."

"May I look at the medallion," Theo said.

"Of course." Buffin carried the medallion around the table and set it down in front of Theopolis. "See here, this is ancient Draconian, I determined that this side is ancient Bertram, but these symbols here, here, and here I do not recognize at all."

Theo studied it for a moment. "I believe these symbols are from Earth, perhaps ancient Egyptian. Yes, most definitely."

"Really?! What does it say?"

Theo paused for a moment. "It is difficult to translate. Give me a moment to search my data banks."

While the tiny computer thought, Twiki said, "Beep-be-de-de-beep: now where were we?"

"So the professor is confident that there will be something of great value in this palace," Minar concluded.

"Which is why we need to get there before Draco does," Buck said. "If we find nothing, then Draco gets nothing and he can cancel the death contract on me and Ardala."

"But what if we do find something?" Ardala asked.

"If there is something there, we need to get it before Draco can."

"I don't like it," Kane shook his head.

"I don't really like it myself," Buck admitted. "But it's your fault I'm in this mess, Kane. You can help me get out of it."

"How is all this my fault?"

"Because you gave Huer this story about the safety of Earth being in jeopardy if I didn't rescue the Princess, then you take me to B'Linta and just dump me in the streets… shall I continue?"

"Kane, I want you to return to the ship," Ardala said. "Buck and I will go to the moon and try to find the palace. Thanks to Rapel, my father now knows where we are. I need you to monitor our progress from space. From there you can let us know if one of my father's ships comes into the Remian system. If they do, you can warn us and we'll leave immediately."

"I won't fire on our own ships."

"You won't have to. We'll be long gone before they get here, hopefully."

"How long does it take to get here from the home world?" Wilma asked.

"We should have about six hours," Kane replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Minar asked.

"I believe I have the translation of the third language," Theopolis announced.

"Lay it on us," Twiki said.

"If I am correct, I believe it says:

In the world above the crystal skies

The palace awaits in time and space

For the unlikeliest of allies

And new lovers' embrace

Be ready for goodbyes

When the beast gives chase

Fear not, for you will fly

When the beast reaches the base.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Come again?"

Buck closed his eyes and shook his head. "Great, more cryptic riddles. So what does it all mean?"

"The world above could mean the moon," Wilma offered.

"The unlikeliest of allies; Draconians and Earthlings working together," Biron suggested.

"And a Bertram," Minar interrupted.

Buck nodded. "Those three working together is definitely unlikely!"

"I like the part about the 'new lover's embrace,'" Ardala winked at Buck.

"If we are correct, that would suggest that Captain Rogers, Princess Ardala, and Minar are to be in the party to find the palace," Theo said.

"Well I'm coming too," Buffin said.

"Why?" Buck, Kane, Minar, and Ardala all asked in unison.

"Well the medallion says that we have to read the map aloud for the palace to appear, and this medallion is the map."

"That's right!" Minar said excitedly. "Remember what happened when I read just the first three words?" he asked Buck. "The whole medallion turned blue! It might be some kind of seal that we need to break."

"And if there's anything inside the palace that needs translated, you're going to need me," Buffin added.

"And me as well," Theo agreed.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: you're not going to leave me behind, Buck."

"Me either," Wilma said.

Everyone turned to Biron. "Well I'd like to come too. It might be safer than leaving me here in the palace by myself, especially considering everyone here is Draconian and the Draconians are still trying to kill me, present company excepted."

"Okay, it looks like everyone's coming to find the palace, except for Kane. Wilma, how'd you get here? In a fighter?"

"Yes."

"Okay. We'll all go up in Minar's shuttle while you follow us in the fighter. That way you can cover us if anything does show up. And if we need more, we still have the fighter that's attached to the shuttle that either I can use or Minar. I don't think there's anyone else here who can fly."

"Sounds good."

Buck slapped the table with both hands, stood. "Then I suggest we get moving. Kane, how long do you suspect we have until Draco's forces could show up?"

"Maybe six hours."

"That's gonna be cutting it short. Okay, people let's go. We have a palace to find."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Kane returned to the superfortress orbiting the planet. Meanwhile, everyone else entered the Bertram space shuttle except Wilma, who had her own starfighter. Minar quickly brought the engines to life and left the palatial hangar, with Wilma following close behind. They were soon out of the planet's atmosphere and headed for the small moon.

Before too long, both the shuttle and the fighter were skimming across the moon's surface. Buck guided Minar toward the position he had seen in the telescope. The first mountain loomed in the distance, soon to be accompanied by three others to make a total of four mountains. Minar slowed the shuttle and began to climb up the face of the nearest mountain. It took only a few seconds to reach the peak. The four mountains were situated almost perfectly in a square formation in an otherwise flat landscape.

"Fly into the middle of the mountains," Buck instructed. "But stay above the peaks. We don't know what's going to happen."

"Buck, are you sure there's something there?" Wilma asked over the radio. "I'm not picking anything up on my scanners. No temple, no power source… nothing."

"Bear with me, Wilma. According to the medallion, the temple will be here; that is if it was translated correctly."

"I beg your pardon," Buffin took offense.

"Captain Rogers, the translation is correct," Theo also argued.

Buck grinned slightly. "Okay, if our interpretation of the translation is right," he corrected himself.

Minar brought the ship to a halt evenly spaced above the four mountain peaks. "Now what?"

"According to the medallion, the map must be read aloud to reveal the pyramid," Buck reminded.

Buffin stepped up to the front of the shuttle with the medallion in hand. He took a deep breath and read all three of the translations, but nothing happened. He looked around the cockpit and cabin, shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing happened," Ardala stated obviously.

Buck cocked his head to one side. "I noticed that. What did we do wrong?"

"Wait a minute," Minar interrupted. "Back in my house when the medallion began to glow, I read the first three words in its original language."

"Of course!" Buck snapped his fingers. "Buffin, can you read it as it's written, not the translation?"

"I can read the first two languages, but I can't do the third one."

"I can do that one," Theo said.

"Good. Buffin, you do the first two, then give the medallion to Theo to read the third. See if that works."

He nodded. He took the medallion again and studied it for a couple moments. He then stepped close to the front of the cockpit and read the Bertram in its original language. The medallion began to glow a pale blue light. He then quickly flipped over the medallion and read the Draconian language in its original tongue. The glow of the medallion grew in intensity and color until the entire cockpit was bathed in the bright blue light. Twiki took the medallion from Buffin and held up the first side so Theo could read the Egyptian symbols. Twiki then turned it over for Theo to read the other side.

As soon as Theopolis completed the reading, the medallion seemed to burst into a brilliant blue/white light that completely engulfed the cockpit. It quickly grew until the cabin and then the entire shuttle was bathed in the blinding light. Everyone inside the shuttle had to tightly close their eyes and put their hands over their eyes to shield from the brilliant light.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: hang on to your horses!"

"Buck, what's going on?" Wilma asked in a panic. "Your whole ship is covered in that blue light! Are you okay?"

But she received no answer. She watched powerlessly as the shuttle seemed to disappear in the blue light. Suddenly another light appeared just below Wilma's fighter. She glanced down to see the top of the mountain peak glowing a pale blue. It quickly grew in intensity until it was almost the same color and brightness as the shuttle.

"Buck, I don't know if you can hear me, but one of the mountains is beginning to glow! No, wait a minute… two of the mountains… no, wait a minute… All four mountains are beginning to glow!"

As soon as the light on all four mountain peaks became the same color and strength, a brilliant blue laser beam shot out across the sky toward the shuttle.

"Buck!" she screamed as the four laser beams intersected the position the shuttle had been just a moment ago. A giant ball of blue light appeared and seemed to grow at a rapid rate, being fed by the lasers from the mountain peaks. "Buck! Are you still there?"

She looked below her and her eyes opened widely. Just below the intersection point of the four blue lasers, the pointed top of a pyramid appeared from out of nowhere. The blue ball of light slowly began to descend onto the tip of the pyramid. It continued to make its way down toward the barren, sandy surface of the moon. As the ball of light descended, it left in its wake more and more of a pyramid that seemed to materializing from out of nowhere. The ball of light continued until the entire pyramid was illuminated and bathed in the light.

The lasers from the mountain peaks ceased just as suddenly as they had started. The blue light bathing the temple slowly began to dissipate into a pale color, then was eventually gone completely. It took a moment for Wilma's eyes to readjust to the dim light of space. When her eyes focused on the shuttle below her, her heart and breathing almost stopped.

"Buck! Are you still there?" she asked hesitantly. "Twiki? Doctor Theopolis?"

The radio remained ghostly quiet for several minutes. Finally she heard a familiar voice which allowed her to begin breathing again.

"Wilma, we're okay," Buck answered. What happened? We're all still a little blind down here. Did it work?"

She took a couple deep breaths and laughed quietly to herself. "Yes, it worked!" she said excitedly. "There is a giant pyramid just below you. If you were ten feet lower, you would be inside!"

There was a moment's pause. "Yep, I can see it now. Talk about a close shave! Wilma, can you see an entrance or something?"

She looked down the side of the pyramid, but saw nothing. She slowly moved her ship to another side and looked down. "Yes, I see an opening on the north side."

"You heard her, Minar," Buck said.

"You got it, Buck!"

Minar moved the shuttle away from the top of the pyramid and descended the north side. About two thirds of the way down the pyramid he found the opening Wilma had mentioned. He hovered in front of the opening, hesitated.

"Buck, your shuttle's not going to fit," Wilma said. "You need to undock the fighter before it'll fit."

"Roger." He tapped Minar on the shoulder. "Give me a minute. I'll go in first and take a look around."

He started for the airlock but Ardala got in his way. "Be careful," she said softly.

"I'll be fine. We haven't gone to all this trouble to find the pyramid just to have it kill us."

"I want to come with you."

Buck shook his head. "You can't. It only holds one person. But don't worry, I'll be fine." He quickly kissed her. "Don't go away," he grinned. "I'll be right back."

Buck entered the airlocks quickly before she could argue any more. In less than a minute, Buck had the fighter separated from the shuttle and the engines fired to life. Minar backed the shuttle up enough to allow Buck to enter the opening first.

Buck brought the ship right up to the entrance and looked inside. The opening appeared to lead into a well-lit, large room. He took a deep breath and eased into the entrance to the temple. Once inside, he saw a wide open space easily big enough to land the shuttle and both fighters and still have room left over. He checked his sensors, didn't believe them, and checked them again.

"Whoa," he whistled. "I didn't expect that."

"What is it, Buck?" Wilma asked.

"Wilma, come on down. Minar, you're clear to come through. I'm out of the way. This place is big enough for all three of us. And if my sensors are correct, we won't be needing those spacesuits we brought."

"Why not?" Minar asked.

"According to this, there's an atmosphere inside here… and some kind of artificial gravity. It's a little less than we're used to, it's only point nine g, but it sure beats the moon's natural gravity."

"How is that possible?" Wilma asked.

"I don't know. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, I say."

"A gift… what?"  
Buck smiled. "Just come on in. The water's fine."

Minar maneuvered the shuttle into the pyramid, followed several minutes later by Wilma. Before anyone exited their ships, however, Theopolis spoke up.

"It might be wise if Twiki and I leave the ship first, just in case the instrumentation on the ships is malfunctioning. If there is no atmosphere here, Twiki and I will not be affected."

"Good idea, Doc," Buck agreed.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I don't know about this!"

"Oh, Twiki, quit complaining," Theo said. "We are the most logical choice to test the atmosphere in here."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: but I'm allergic to no atmosphere."

"Now you're just stalling. Come on."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

Twiki stepped into the airlock and exited the ship. He walked around for a couple minutes inside the hangar. "Captain Rogers, you're instruments seem to be accurate," Theo said. "There is indeed a rich atmosphere in here, and gravity. There must be a considerable power source somewhere within the temple to generate this much gravity."

"We can find that later. We've got work to do."

Everyone exited their respective ships. Minar pointed toward the entrance of the pyramid. A translucent shield covered the opening. "Look at that!"

"That must be how they can maintain air in here," Wilma said.

"It appears to be a one-way barrier against the elements of space," Theo said.

"Does that mean we're stuck in here?" Twiki questioned.

"That is a good question."

Buck waved his hand. "We can cross that bridge when we get there." He pointed to an open doorway on the opposite side of the hangar. "We need to search this place. We came here for a reason; we can't worry about getting out yet."

Ardala stepped up to Buck and entwined her arm in his. "I'm staying with you."

"Wilma, do you still have contact with Kane?"

Wilma climbed into the cockpit of her fighter. She disappeared for several moments before coming back out. "Yes, he can still hear me."

"Good. I want you to stay here."

"But-," she started to protest.

"I need you to stay here in case Kane needs to get a hold of us, like if Draco's forces come in early."

She sighed, nodded. "I understand."

Buck started for the small doorway. "Everyone else come with me. Let's see what secrets this temple has to unlock."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Buck led the way down the long tunnel from the landing bay. The tunnel slanted down steeply into the interior of the pyramid. After several minutes of descending, the tunnel flattened and then rapidly dead-ended into a flat wall. On either side of the wall were indentations shaped to look like hands. The handprint on the right side was normal sized, but the hand print on the left looked almost miniaturized.

"Now what?" asked Buffin.

"Aren't you the expert?" Buck asked.

"On translations, yes. Not on puzzles."

Minar examined the left side handprint cautiously. "This is just about my size," he commented.

"Unlikely allies," Buck mumbled.

"What are you saying, Darling?" Ardala asked.

Buck thought for a moment. "The medallion said unlikely allies. That handprint is Minar's size, this is our size. Princess, put your hand inside that indentation. You too, Minar. Maybe this is the key to get inside."

Hesitantly they brought their hands closer to the indentations. Ardala glanced at Buck who simply nodded at her. They pressed their hands firmly against the handprints on the wall but nothing happened.

"Well that didn't work," Buck muttered.

Without another word, Buffin began to read the medallion again. Once again the medallion began to glow, this time a reddish color. Once he was done with the medallion, Theo recited the Terran version of the inscription from memory. Both hand prints on the wall began to glow the same reddish color as the medallion. A small laser shot out from both handprints and connected with the medallion. Almost immediately the wall began to separate from the floor in an upwards motion until it was six feet off the floor. Once the door locked soundly in place, the medallion ceased glowing and the lasers on the handprints faded. Buck glanced over at Buffin and patted his shoulder.

"Nice job."

"The medallion said to read it aloud to open the pyramid; I figured it might work here too."

"Lucky guess," Twiki said.

"Better lucky than good," Buck said. "Okay, in we go."

Buck led the way through the door and into an expansive, cavernous room. The room was probably a hundred yards wide on either side. The ceiling was so high that the top could not even be seen. In the center of the room was an altar flanked on either side by a concrete slab six feet long and three feet wide that rested on legs four feet high. In the exact center of the altar was a round depression the same size as the medallion. Without thinking, Buffin placed the medallion into the indentation on the altar. The medallion sank into the altar several inches, then the whole altar began to glow a pale blue.

"There's an inscription here," Buffin announced. He looked at the writing for a moment. "Prepare to defend against the guardian of the ages."

Buck jumped away from the altar. "What did the medallion say about a beast of ancient times?"

"When the beast gives chase, Fear not for you will fly when the beast reaches the base," Theo repeated.

"So what's that supposed to mean?"

"Buck! Look!"

He looked up where Ardala was pointing. A blue ball of light was slowly descending from the unseen ceiling. It moved down at a slow and steady rate until it touched the altar. It then began to merge with the blue glow of the medallion. Quickly it doubled in size and then doubled again. Within seconds the glowing ceased only to be replaced by a giant beast. Everyone jumped away from the altar as the beast surveyed the chamber.

"Is this the guardian?"

"That would be my guess," Twiki said.

The beast focused on Buck and began to growl loudly. It then lunged toward him.

"Hey, why is it after me? Wasn't I supposed to fly when it reached the base of the altar?"

"He hasn't chased you, yet!" Ardala said.

Buck pulled out his pistol from his hip. "I don't feel like being chased today."

He quickly pulled the trigger. The laser seemed to pass right through the beast with no affect. The beast grabbed Buck and easily lifted him into the air. Without effort, it threw him across the chamber. Buck landed on the floor with a thud.

"Buck!" Ardala screamed.

Seemingly oblivious of everyone else in the pyramid, the beast continued to advance toward Buck. Ardala pulled out her gun and tried to fire at the beast but missed badly. Instead of hitting anywhere near the monster, the laser imbedded into the wall just above Buck's head.

"Hey, watch where you're aiming that!" he yelled loudly.

"Sorry, I was never a good shot!"  
"Do me a favor!"

"What?"  
"Give your gun to somebody else!" he said as he just barely jumped away from the monster's lunge.

"Buck, what do you want us to do?" Minar asked.

"I could use some ideas on how to beat this thing! Shooting at it isn't working! Look around the room! Maybe there'll be a clue here somewhere?"

The beast managed to pick him up again and throw him several yards across the room again.

Buffin retreated to the far wall to get away from the monster. He happened to turn around. He gasped noticeably. "There are inscriptions over here!"

"Great," Buck moaned as he stumbled to his feet. "Can you decipher it?"

"It'll take me some time."

The monster grabbed Buck again and threw him. Buck crawled to his knees painfully after landing on the hard floor. "Oh sure, take all the time you need. I got this guy exactly where I want him!"

"It says you have to banish it back from where it came!"

"I'm all for that!" Buck cried. "Just tell me how!"

Buffin turned to face Twiki. "Doctor Theopolis, Professor, I need your help!"

Biron and Twiki rushed over to the wall while Buck continued to dodge the monster. Ardala was trying to lure the monster away from Buck, but it wasn't working. Minar also went to the wall beside Twiki and Buffin. They studied the wall for several minutes as Buck continued to take a beating.

"This might take some time," Biron said. "There are three languages written here."

Buck groaned painfully. "Just don't take too long! I don't know how much longer I can hold out here!"

"Commander Kane, I'm detecting a large fluctuation in subspace. Something is coming out of hyperspace. It's close… and big!"

Kane turned to look out the front view screen. A bright light suddenly exploded in the black sky and a ship appeared from out of nowhere.

"It's a superfortress," Kane muttered almost inaudibly.

"Sir, it's the Antithesis!"

Kane thought for only a brief moment. "That would be second Princess Anderia."

"Sir, she's hailing."

He simply nodded. In seconds the viewscreen showed the face of a beautiful, young woman. "Princess Anderia, you are looking well."

"Commander Kane, I have been sent here by the direct orders of my father, the Emperor Draco. I am here to place you, your entire crew, and my sister Ardala under arrest for pending trial for court-martial and treason. I order you to surrender immediately."

"Princess, please allow me to explain," Kane started. "Ardala is not here. She hasn't been here for about a week. We received word just recently suggesting that she might be on Remian Four. We just got here last night, and we are in the process of locating her right now."

"Save it for your trial. You will surrender now. Lower your shields."

The screen went blank. An officer in front of the bridge turned. "Shall I lower the shields?"

"Did I give you orders to lower them?" Kane snapped.

"No, but I thought-"

"I'll do the thinking around here. That's why I'm sitting here and you're sitting there. Comm, raise Colonel Deering. We need to warn them to get out."

"Aye, Sir." A moment passed. "Sir, the Earth woman is on the line, audio only."

"Colonel Deering, this is Kane."

"Go ahead, Kane. What is it?"

"Colonel, you are running out of time. There is another superfortress up here demanding our surrender and Princess Ardala's."

"Okay. Do they know where we are yet?"  
"Negative; it doesn't appear so, yet. But it's only a matter of time."

"Thanks for the warning. Try to keep them at bay until we can get out."

"Colonel, I will not fire at my own people."

"Hopefully you won't have to. Stand by; I'll go tell the others."

"I got something here!" Minar said. "To defeat the guardian of times gone by…"

There was a pause. "I'm listening!" Buck hollered.

"I don't know; that's all I see in my language!"

"You must banish it back into the sky," Buffin translated.

"It will follow the man of old," Theo said.

"Of which the legends have foretold," Biron continued.

"The two lovers' path it will embrace," Buffin added.

"To the end of time will it race," finished Theo.

"Legend?" Buck yelled as he flew across the room again. "What legend?"

Ardala's eyes widened. "Knilong and Gahan!" she blurted. "Gahan rescued Knilong from the depths of a cold hell and took her to the palace in the sky!"

Buck wiped the dirt and sweat from his face. "You're not coming through," he mumbled. "What sky?"

"The pyramid entrance! It's in the sky! The only way in was from the sky!"

Buck breathed heavily. "When the beast gives chase," he muttered to himself.

"The new lovers' embrace!" Ardala added.

"To the end of time…"

Buck took a deep breath and gauged where the monster was. He broke into a sprint toward Ardala. He grabbed her hand and headed for the tunnel exit. "Run, Baby!"

They sprinted toward the exit and headed up the steep tunnel. The behemoth began to chase them, leaving everyone else behind.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Run, Buck! Run!"

Buck and Ardala sprinted up the path with the monster closing the gap with every step. "It's getting closer?" she hollered in a panic.

"Well don't turn to look!" he ordered.

"I didn't! I can feel it on my back!"

"Just keep running!"

They finally reached the flat portion of the hangar. Wilma was just beginning to walk across the landing bay when she saw Buck and Ardala running across the hangar.

"Buck, good timing. Kane just-"

Before she could finish, she saw the behemoth. Buck grabbed Ardala's hand again. "The exit!" he yelled.

"But we'll die!"

"Trust me!"

They continued their run toward the exit. Just before they reached the translucent force shield, Buck pushed Ardala to the side. She was unable to stop before running into the side of the pyramid beside the entrance. Buck jumped into the air as high as he could. His fingertips tapped the very top of the entranceway before he slid through the force shield and out into space. The behemoth continued to chase Buck through the force shield.

"NO!" Ardala screamed.

When she came to her senses, she rushed to the exit and peered out into space. She watched as the behemoth tumbled down the pyramid until it reached the bottom. As soon as the monster reached the base of the pyramid, it exploded into a brilliant white light. Buck was nowhere to be seen.

"Buck," she sobbed, dropped her head into her chest. "Buck, why? You could have saved yourself and let me die! Why you?"

Wilma ran up to the princess sitting on the floor right in front of the shield. "Where's Buck?" she asked hesitantly.

Ardala couldn't speak through her sobs. She merely pointed outside. Wilma looked out the portal, then back at Ardala. "You let him go out there?!" she asked incredulously. "How could you?"

"I didn't!" Ardala snapped. "He pushed me out of the way before he jumped!"

"He jumped out?"

Ardala nodded. "I think he was trying to grab the top of the doorway to stop. He reached it, but he was running too fast. His momentum took him outside. That… that beast followed him out and I saw it plunge to its death! It blew up in a white light. I… I can't believe Buck's…I had so much more I wanted to tell him!"

Wilma sat down beside the princess. "You know, you're different. I think Buck got to you. You're not the same… princess we all are used to."

"Buck said the same thing," she sobbed. "At first, I think my attraction to Buck was…a selfish desire on my part. I wanted to use him for my own means. But… I did change. I really love him. What am I going to do without him now? Maybe I should go with him."

She stood up suddenly and took a step toward the shield. Wilma rapidly rose to her feet and grabbed Ardala and turned her around. "That's not going to bring Buck back."

"I know. I … just can't imagine my life without him now. We were finally becoming close. There was so much I wanted to tell him… that I never will."

She tried to turn around again, but Wilma wouldn't let her. "What would Buck say if he saw you doing this?"

Ardala closed her eyes, sighed heavily. At last she nodded once. "You're right."

Wilma took her hand to lead her away from the shield. "Let's go get the others. Kane said he's got company. We need to get out of here."

"Commander Kane, the Antithesis has released six squadrons of fighters."

"Where are they headed?"

"Four of them are moving to surround us, the other two are spreading out and heading for the planet."

"So they don't know where the princess is, either. Fine. Scramble all of our fighters, but do not release them yet."

* * *

Yonder carefully checked his instrumentation as he headed for the front of the traitor superfortress. Suddenly a bright white light flashed across his viewscreen for only a moment before it was gone. His eyes tried to focus on the origin of the light.

"Vega One to Squad leader; I just saw something coming from the surface of the moon. Permission to break off and investigate."

"Granted, Vega One. Take Seven, Eight, and Nine with you."

"Yes, Sir."

Four hatchet fighters broke formation and headed for the moon. It took only a minute to reach the area where the pyramid was. They could see the light of the interior of the temple through the one way shield.

"There's something down here! Squad leader, request permission to open fire!"

"Granted."

He broke his fighter into a dive and began to fire at the entrance of the temple.

A laser blast struck the side of the pyramid and caused the landing bay to shudder. Ardala and Wilma fell to the floor as dust began to settle onto their heads. Ardala quickly got back up and stepped closer to the entrance to get a good look at the fighters.

"Princess, get away from there!" Wilma said.

"Those are our fighters!" Ardala screamed. "Those are Draconian fighters!"

Another blast struck the shield. Ardala lost her balance and began to fall. Wilma managed to just barely grasp the princess's hand before she fell through the shield and out into space. Desperately she tried to pull up Ardala.

"Just let me go," Ardala hollered. "If you try to save me, you might slip and fall yourself! Just let me go!"

"I can't do that, Princess! Buck would never forgive me!"

"But I won't allow you and Buck to both die for me! One death today is enough!"

"I agree!" Wilma grunted. "One death today is enough! Now shut up, I'm trying to save your life!"

A third laser blast landed squarely on the force shield. The force of the blast caused Wilma to lose her grip on Ardala and push her away from the entrance. She screamed for the princess, but when she looked out the door, there was nothing to be seen. She shook her head and ran to her fighter.

"Commander Kane, four fighters have broken formation."

"Where are they going?"

"The moon."

"Damn," Kane swore. "Raise Colonel Deering on the radio."

"I tried, Sir. She seems to have left her ship."

He swore again. "Helm, move us into position between the moon and the Antithesis."

After a couple minutes, the helmsman turned around. "We are in position."

"Commander, I have Colonel Deering on the audio."

"Kane," Wilma said excitedly. "We're under attack! We need your help!"

"I told you, Colonel, that I can not fire on my own people," Kane argued.

"Well your own people just fired on us and killed your Princess Ardala!"

"What? Are you sure?"  
"Yes, I saw her fall from the pyramid myself! Right now she's lying somewhere at the bottom of this pyramid, probably right beside Buck! Now if you don't help us soon, we'll all be dead!"

"Captain Rogers is dead too?"

"Yes!"

"Colonel, can you handle the fighters in your area?"

"I'll try."

"Very good." Kane turned to face the front of the ship. "Weapons; load all torpedo bays and charge the lasers. It's time we fight."


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Wilma headed for her fighter when she saw Minar run into the landing bay. "Minar, can you fly?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was third in my class of fifty. Why?"

"We've got company! We just lost Buck and Ardala! Get in your ship!"

Minar climbed into the fighter and followed Wilma out of the pyramid. They dropped into a dive toward the moon's surface and spiraled around the pyramid until they could get up to speed. They then shot over the top of the pyramid and out into space. Minar happened to look down at the peak of the pyramid.

"Colonel Deering, did you see that?"  
"See what?"

"The top of the pyramid is glowing green! And the top is actually open!"

Wilma activated the combat computers as the first of the four fighters came into range. "We'll have to investigate it later! Let's go!"

Kane turned to the communications officer. "Get me the Antithesis."

"Yes, Sir. Channel open."

"This is Commander Kane to Princess Anderia."

The view screen changed to the image of the princess. "What is it, Kane? Are you prepared to surrender?"

"No. I have just received word that your fighters have just killed the First Princess Ardala on the surface of the moon. I request that you withdraw immediately seeing as you are now the rightful heir to the Draconian throne. If something were to befall you here, Draco would not be pleased to lose his two eldest daughters on the same day. One daughter is enough."

"Ardala is dead, then? So be it. Kane, you will surrender immediately and prepare to be boarded or I will open fire."

"I am sorry, Princess, but that is something I can not do."

"Fine. Then you can die. Gunners: open fire!"

The screen became blank. Suddenly the entire superfortress vibrated. "Sir, we're under attack. Direct hit to starboard shields. Shields are holding. The Antithesis' hatchet fighters are beginning their run against us."

"Prepare to release all our fighters on my mark. Weapons: ready torpedo tubes one through twenty, random targets to cover the fighters' exit. Comm; all fighters fire at will! Release the fighters NOW! Fire torpedoes!"

Minar heard the sound of the targeting computer being locked against him. He slammed the control stick hard to his left just as the enemy fighter shot. His ship rocked violently from side to side.

"Colonel, I'm hit!"

"What's your damage?"

"I've lost my weapons!"

"Head back to the pyramid; you're no good to me up here without weapons."

Wilma pressed the red button on her control stick and watched a hatchet fighter explode right in front of her. "Two down, two to go," she muttered.

"Colonel, there's one right behind you!" Minar exclaimed.

"I thought I told you to get out of here!" she replied.

She desperately tried to elude the fighter behind her, but it matched every move she could muster. "I can't get away!"

Just as the tone sounded in her headset, Minar's voice interrupted with a tribal scream. He cut his ship into a path directly behind Wilma and in front of the hatchet. Surprised by the sudden appearance of another fighter, the hatchet quickly dove to avert a collision. Wilma swung her ship around and fired her laser, slicing the hatchet in half just before exploding.

"Nice flying, Minar!"

"We got one more up here somewhere," he said.

They flew around for a moment looking for the final hatchet fighter before Wilma saw it. "Down there, near the pyramid!"

Before she could say another word, Minar broke his ship into a massive nosedive toward the moon. The hatchet circled around the pyramid and began to climb back into space. Wilma's finger hesitated on the firing button.

"Take the shot!" Minar shouted.

"If I miss, I'll hit the pyramid!"  
"They're not worried about hitting the pyramid!"  
Minar swung his ship beside the hatchet and then quickly veered left, into the hatchet. In a move of self-preservation, the hatchet veered away from Minar. Wilma managed a clear shot and fired. The laser sliced the tail of the hatchet fighter. In a lack of control, the final enemy fighter turned right into the pyramid and exploded upon impact. Minar checked the radar on his console.

"That looks like the last one around here."

"Good. Let's head back down to the pyramid. What were you saying earlier about the top glowing?"

"Just what I saw when we first exited. The top of the pyramid was glowing green and it was actually open by a few feet."

"Open? How is that possible?"

"I don't know, Colonel. It was like the very top of the pyramid was hinged on all four sides, about three feet long."

"It doesn't appear to be open now," Wilma noticed as she flew over the top of the giant temple. "It looks like it's solid."

"All I know is what I saw."

Wilma nodded. "I know. Well let's go down and find out what's going on. Hopefully Kane can handle his end of this little battle."

"Commander Kane, shields are down to fifty percent."

"Divert power from shield generator three to one."

"But that will weaken the aft shields."

"I know what it will do," Kane snapped. "Do what I ordered! The enemy is in front of us, not behind us!"

Suddenly they saw a flaming fighter headed directly for the view screen. Before anyone could react, the view screen burst into a bright light as the ship impacted the shields. "Quickly, rotate the shields!" Kane hollered.

"Forward Shields down to twenty percent! Aft shields are failing!"

Just then the ship rocked, sending everyone who wasn't sitting firmly sprawling across the floor. "Direct hit, section 1579… engines are down!"

Kane swore. The view screen lit up as Princess Anderia appeared. "Commander Kane, your ship is severely damaged. Your engines are inoperable, and your shields are failing. I will tell you this one last time: you will surrender immediately and face fair trial for treason and court-martial, or you will be destroyed."

Kane wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Fair trial? You and the Emperor have already concluded our sentence. If I am to die anyway, I prefer to die in battle! And I'll take you with me if I can. It's the least I can do to the murderer of the First Princess Ardala, rightful heir to the Draconian throne."

He touched a button on his seat which deactivated the transmission connection. He turned to the weapons console. "We're not the only one here with weakening shields. If we can punch a hole in their shields, perhaps we can extend this battle. Weapons: Prepare a continuous laser, maximum power, narrow beam. Aim it at sector 4438 of the Antithesis. On my mark expand the narrow beam exponentially by a power of two every five seconds. Prepare torpedo tubes thirty to fifty and target the same area."

"Yes, Sir. It'll take a moment to input. I can probably only give you forty-five seconds of continuous fire before we drain the energy reserves. It'll take time to recharge them afterwards."

"Understood."

The few seconds dragged on in incessant silence before the calculations were ready. As soon as the weapons officer said they were ready, Kane nearly yelled, "FIRE!"

The laser impacted the shields of the Antithesis. Kane waited patiently for several seconds. "Any impact on shield output?"

"There is a drop of ten percent."

Kane absorbed the information as another laser blast struck his own shields. "Sir, shields down to ten percent!"

"Weapons; begin to expand the range of the laser beam. Remember: exponentially by a power of two every five seconds."

Kane counted about twenty seconds silently to himself. At last he gave the order to fire the torpedoes. A huge explosion registered on the Antithesis. The crew on the bridge cheered their success.

"Princess! We've been hit! We're losing power rapidly! They hit the main power generator. At the current loss of power, we'll drain the reserves in less than a minute!"

"What?! How? Damn you, Kane!" she swore. "Helm, retreat immediately!"

"We'll only have enough power to engage the hyper space engines for twenty-five seconds. That'll leave us in the middle of nowhere."

"I know. Retreat NOW!"

"But Princess, what about-"

"They're not going anywhere anytime soon. Their engines are disabled. After we bring the backup generators on line, we'll come back and finish them off."

"Yes, Ma'am. Hyperspace engines on line… now."

"Commander Kane, the Antithesis is retreating. They've opened a hyperspace window. It worked!"

He shook his head. "All we did was buy us some time. We damaged the main reactor. All they have to do is bring the three backup generators online and wait for the power reserves to recharge. Then they'll be back."

"How long do we have?"

Kane shrugged. "Probably about three hours. We have three hours to come up with a plan to either disable the Antithesis as soon as they come out of hyperspace, or find a way to retreat ourselves." He tapped a button on his console. "Engineering, this is the bridge. Can you have the engines repaired in three hours?"

"Not a chance, Sir. It'll take at least three days."

"Understood. Do what you can." He took a deep sigh. "Comm: give me a channel to the remaining fighters out there."

"Channel open, Sir."

"This is Commander Kane to all remaining fighters of the Superfortress Antithesis. Cease fighting immediately. The Antithesis has retreated, leaving you stranded here. I do not wish to continue the fight against you, but I will if forced to. I highly recommend that you surrender at once. You will be brought aboard and treated fairly; I give you my word as Commander. You will be taken to private chambers where you can rest. I promise you that you will not be arrested and taken to the brig. You will be treated fairly until we can return you to your ship. I give you one minute to decide before we open fire."

He ceased the transmission. The weapons officer turned briefly. "But Sir, we don't have anything to fire at them."

Kane nodded. "They don't know that. When they come aboard, have them placed under arrest and taken to the brig." He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "I don't know how we're going to get out of this one."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The sound of a muffled explosion reverberated throughout the chamber of the temple. Dust from somewhere high above their heads drifted down toward the altar and the ones still left inside.

"I wonder what's going on," Buffin said.

"It sounds like we are being fired upon by Draconian hatchet fighters," Theo said.  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Buck will protect us."

"I wonder what's happened to the captain, and the princess."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'm worried about Buck."

"I'm sure Captain Rogers is just fine."

Biron turned from the corner he was studying and headed toward the exit. "I'll go take a look."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: don't go. Everyone who leaves this room doesn't come back."

Biron chuckled slightly. "I'll be back."

Biron left the chamber. "Twiki, take me over to the altar in the center of the room," Theo ordered politely as Buffin continued to examine the wall carvings.

Just as Twiki reached the altar, Biron came rushing back into the chamber. He was breathing heavily. He placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Everyone's gone!" he managed to finally say.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I told you so!"

Buffin whirled around. "What do you mean gone?"  
"Just what I said! There is no one in the landing bay!"

"Where did they all go?"

"I don't know. There's no one in the landing bay, and I didn't see anyone in the corridor. Either they found a hidden room, or they're gone!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: what about Buck?"

"Both fighters are gone, too. The only thing in the landing bay is the shuttle! I even looked inside that and it's empty!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: we're stranded here!"

"Now Twiki, I'm sure that someone will come back for us," Theo reassured. "After all, the shuttle is still in the landing bay. I'm sure someone here can fly it."

"I can't fly," Buffin announced.

Biron held up his hands. "Don't look at me."  
'Beep-be-de-de-beep: Great! We're stranded!"  
"Now Twiki, don't get your circuits charged up or you'll overheat. Just lift me onto the altar so I can see what's up there."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

"If you want to do something constructive, Twiki," Theo started. "Why don't you try to contact Buck or Wilma with your internal communication circuits. If they are in one of our fighters, one of them should hear you."  
"Beep-be-de-de-beep: good idea."

Wilma heard a muffled beeping in her headset. She tapped one of her earpieces. "What the-? Twiki, is that you?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: where's Buck?"

Wilma took a deep breath and held it for a moment. "I'm sorry, Twiki. Buck and the princess fell out of the entrance. They didn't make it."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

"I'm deeply sorry to hear that," Theo said sadly. "I know how close you were."

Biron turned. "What's happened?"  
"Colonel Deering told Twiki that Captain Rogers and Princess Ardala fell out of the pyramid."

"Fell out?"

"But no one can live outside-" Buffin interrupted himself.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

The room fell into a pensive silence. Biron and Buffin returned to their studies quietly while Theo continued to inspect the top of the altar. Suddenly a green glyph began to glow on the altar, just above the indentation where the blue medallion rested. Right above the glyph appeared symbols, writing. The color of the glyph started out as a pale green, but quickly grew to a bright green. Once it became a bright, neon green, it began to blink slowly. As the seconds passed, it began to blink increasingly faster.

Twiki turned away from the altar and headed toward the exit. "Twiki, where are you going?" Theo asked.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I'm going to find Buck!"

"Twiki, wait! There is some writing here!"

Buffin turned quickly. "Really? What's it say?"

"I believe it says:

The lovers' death is premature

Soul and spirit the symbol lures

Side by side the bodies will appear

From spirits merged to beds lay near"

Buffin shook his head. "I hate these riddles!"

"The lovers' death is premature," Biron repeated. "Well according to the other epitaphs, the lovers indicated the princess and Captain Rogers. If their death is premature, then they're still alive somewhere!"

The glyph blinked even faster and faster. The lights on Theo's face glowed brighter than normal. "Twiki, you must come here and touch the glyph!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: you touch it. I'm going to find Buck!"

"I believe Buck is still alive here! You need to touch this glyph to bring him back!"

The ambuquad turned back to the altar and reached up. "I can't reach it!"

Biron ran across the chamber and pressed the glyph. A round hole opened where the glyph had been to show another medallion. A pinpoint green light appeared high above the altar and quickly descended onto the new medallion. The medallion began to glow green as it absorbed the light from above. Soon the entire altar resonated a pale green light. Suddenly a green laser shot out from either side of the altar and imbedded into the slabs on either side of the altar. Both slabs began to glow green and two figures began to form. The longer the lasers fired, the more shape the figures took until they could be recognized as bodies. After a few minutes, the lasers stopped and everything returned to its normal color.

Buck moaned slightly as he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Twiki's face staring down at him. Buck grinned slightly.

"Well I'm not in Heaven," he muttered.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: You're alive, Buck!"

He closed his eyes for a moment. "It would appear so."

"Buck, Darling! Is that you?"

Buck rolled his eyes. "Now I know I'm not in Heaven!"

"Oh, Buck. You're terrible. You weren't complaining last night!"

He simply grinned.

"Captain Rogers, it is good to have you back," Theo said. "When Colonel Deering said that you and the Princess Ardala had fallen, I must admit I felt remorse."

"Thanks, Theo. So what happened, anyway?"

"That beast was chasing us," Ardala said as she sat up carefully. "You pushed me out of the way and then you jumped through the force field."

Buck nodded. "That's right. I remember being chased by that thing. I pushed you away from the exit and then I jumped up and tried to catch the top of the opening. I thought I could do it in this weaker gravity, but I guess I mistimed my jump. In the lower gravity, I was running faster than normal and I jumped right through the door. But how did I end up here? I should be dead? And how did Ardala fall through the door?"

"I was standing at the shields looking for you when a hatchet fighter fired on us," Ardala explained. "I lost my balance and fell out, despite Colonel Deering's attempt to save me."

Buck sat up too quickly. "Oh, dizzy," he mumbled.

Just then Wilma stepped into the chamber and saw Buck and Ardala. "Buck!" she nearly shouted. "Princess? But how…? I saw you fall!"

"I believe that the captain and princess were held in some sort of matter-energy buffer transfer. The device was intended to hold their two bodies and transfer them back here. Buck fell through first and was held in stasis until the princess also fell. Once there were two bodies in the buffer, your matter turned to energy and became transported to the top of the pyramid and then down onto this altar. What an ingenious device," Theo raved. "It must require a tremendous amount of power to operate."

"Huh?" Buck asked. "Some kind of matter-energy… what?"

"Matter-energy transfer," Theo repeated. "This green medallion channeled both your and the princess's energies back to your respective bodies."

"So Ardala and I were… merged into one energy source? And then rematerialized separately?"

"Sounds romantic!" Ardala said gleefully.

"Minar did say that he saw the top of the pyramid glowing green when we first left to fight the hatchet fighters," Wilma said.

Buck stood up and leaned against the altar. "Did you say green medallion?"

"Yes. Another medallion showed up just before you rematerialized."

Buck looked on the altar and saw the two now colorless medallions. "Okay, so where's the ultimate weapon?"

Buffin ran to the altar. "There's another medallion?"

"Please tell me it won't take another two days to translate this one," Buck said.

"We don't have two days," Wilma said matter of factly. "Kane said we may only have about three hours. He was able to withstand the first attack, but said that the Antithesis will be back soon."

"The Antithesis?" Ardala gasped. "What's Anderia doing here?"

"Trying to kill us," Wilma said.

"I knew she wanted my throne, but to kill her older sister? I'll get her for this!"

"I believe I have the translation."

Buck's eyes widened. "Really? Already?"

"Yes. I'm getting a lot of practice with this language, so it's getting easier to read. I believe it says:

In the frigid lands of ice and snow

Is an island temple in the waters below

Guarded my men whose stature is small

Inside the temple hides the weapon for all

"I know of an underwater pyramid on my world," Minar said as he walked into the room.

Buck rolled his eyes and sat back down on the slab. "Don't tell me."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: we're going back to Bertram."

Buck sighed deeply. "I told you not to tell me."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"Commander Kane, there's an audio message coming in from Colonel Deering."

"Put her on the speakers."

"Colonel Deering to Kane."

"Kane here."

"I think you need to meet us in the landing bay."

"Colonel," Kane started. "I am a little busy trying to prepare for the Antithesis' return in less than two hours."

"I really think you need to meet us down here when we dock," Wilma insisted. "It has to do with your princess."

"You recovered her body?"

There was a slight pause. "Yeah, you could say that. Just meet us down here."  
Kane sighed. "Very well. I will meet you in the hangar when you land. Kane out."

Kane waited impatiently for the Bertram shuttle to come to a rolling stop. Wilma's star fighter came to a rest right beside it. Wilma exited and met Kane at the bottom of the shuttle's ramp.

"I'm here," Kane snapped. "Now let's get this over or they'll be burying all of us."

Suddenly Princess Ardala appeared at the top of the ramp. "Hello, Kane. Are you happy to see me?"  
His eyes widened beyond proportion. "But you said…"

Buck appeared to stand beside Ardala. He started down the ramp. "News of our demise has been greatly exaggerated."

"Actually, we were dead… kind of," Ardala added.

Buck smirked at the look of confusion on Kane's face. "We can explain later."

Twiki, Buffin, Minar, and Biron started down the ramp. Kane looked at the crew of the shuttle with disdain. "What is a Bertram doing here?"

"He helped us find the pyramid," Buck said. "Is there somewhere they can rest?"

Kane nodded. "Yes. I'll have one of my men take them to guest quarters."

"So what's our situation?" asked Ardala.

"I'll brief you on the way to the bridge," Kane said as he turned.

"Come along, Buck."

Kane whirled back around. "Princess, foreigners are not allowed on the bridge."

"Buck comes with me. Besides, if what I've heard is correct, we need all the help and ideas we can get."

Kane sighed. "As you wish, Princess."

"Come on, Twiki," Buck said. "We might need you and Theo too."

They started across the hangar toward the exit. Once in the corridor, Kane began to explain what had happened.

"Our shields are weakened greatly. We project that they will probably only be about fifty percent by the time Anderia returns. We have no engines whatsoever. All the torpedoes are spent and the laser reserves are at sixty percent."

"How long to fix the engines?" Buck asked.

"Too long. We won't have anything when they get back."

"So we don't stand a chance of fighting them," Wilma said hopelessly.

"So how are we going to get back to Bertram?" Ardala asked.

"Why do we need to go back to Bertram?" Kane asked.

"That's where the next temple is," Theo said. "According to the medallion, that's where the ultimate weapon is."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: we can't there from here."

Buck rubbed his chin. "Unless we can get the Antithesis crew to abandon their ship."

Wilma turned to face Buck. "What do you have in mind?"

"What kind of damage did you do to the Antithesis? Why'd they retreat?"

"We managed to disable the main power reactor so they would lose power. But once the backup generators come online and their systems recharge, they'll be back."

"What kind of power reactor do you have?" Buck asked.

Kane hesitated. He turned to Ardala, but remained silent. Ardala looked at Buck and nodded. "We use anti-matter generators."

Kane gave her a glare but she simply shrugged. "That's not exactly top secret information," she shot back. "Besides, we need the help. So what do you have in mind, Buck, Darling?"

"How many crew do you need to operate a superfortress, at a bare minimum?" Buck questioned.

Kane stopped to think for a moment. "I suppose it would be possible to operate with a thousand or fifteen hundred personnel, if we work twelve hour shifts."

"Is that including pilots?"  
"Yes."

Buck nodded. "Okay, how long would it take to transport them off this ship and onto the Antithesis?"

Kane cocked his head to one side. "Why would we-"

"How long?" Buck interrupted.

"An hour at least."

Buck sighed. "How many ships would you need?"  
"This ship only has ten personnel carriers. To evacuate that many crew, each ship would have to take two trips."

"We probably don't have that much time," Buck muttered. "What if you strip the carriers of everything? Take all the seats out, expand the cargo area…"

Kane thought a moment. "I suppose we could do it all in one trip, but everyone would be uncomfortable."

"Better uncomfortable than dead!"

"True. I suppose it's doable in half an hour. If we can load the carriers and have them in lunar orbit before the Antithesis gets back, that could save us some time."

"But I don't know why my sister would order her ship to evacuate," Ardala said.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: maybe we could ask her real nice."  
Buck turned to Wilma. "Do you think you could fly a hatchet fighter?"

"It won't be pretty, but I could do it," Wilma answered. "What are you planning, Buck?"

"If we take control of the Antithesis, we'll need the security codes for all the authorized access areas and some keycards," Ardala said.

Buck stared at her blankly.

"All ships have their own set of access codes in the unlikely event someone would infiltrate one of our superfortress."

"So who would know them?"

"Anderia, of course, and all the officers."

Kane snapped his fingers. "Fighter pilots would have keycards."

"How's that going to help us?" Wilma asked.

"We picked up a few of the Antithesis' hatchet fighters when she retreated," Kane said, smiling.

"So we need to get their keycard?" Buck questioned.

Kane smiled broadly. "Leave that to me."

"I still don't understand what we're doing!" Ardala said.

"We can't get to Bertram on this ship, so we're going to use the Antithesis. We're going to make them abandon their ship so we can take over."

"But how?"

"Wilma, do you think you could find the damaged reactor area?"  
"If someone makes me a map. But why?"

Buck looked at Ardala and smirked. "Princess Anderia wants you and Kane, right? We're going to give her what she wants."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"Commander Kane; subspace disturbance off the starboard side. It's the Antithesis, Sir."

The view screen showed the superfortress appearing into normal space. In only seconds, Princess Anderia's face showed up on the screen.

"Commander Kane, I will only say this once more. You will surrender immediately or be destroyed."

"Princess Anderia; I have some information that you may be interested in knowing."

"And what might that be?"  
"I was badly misinformed earlier when I reported to you that the Princess Ardala was dead."

A smirk appeared on Anderia's face. "So Ardala is alive?"  
Ardala stepped into view of the camera. "Hello, Dear Sister."

"Ardala!" she hissed. "Father is very disappointed in you."

"Yes, I know. Did you know that Father has placed a contract upon my life?"

Anderia shrugged. "I'm not surprised. You have done… many things that Father has not approved. Most of them having to do with those stupid Earthlings."

"Perhaps my judgment has been clouded on occasion. But if I am executed, then that puts you in line to succeed the throne. If Father can put a contract out on his first daughter, what's stopping him from putting one out on his second daughter?"

"I am," Anderia sneered. "I don't plan on defying him like you have time and time again. Now Dear Sister, if you care at all for your crew and your ship, I suggest you surrender yourself and your military advisor Kane. You will prepare to be boarded."

"Princess, I have a better idea," Kane said. "We were able to acquire four of your hatchet fighters and pilots when you temporarily retreated. Since this ship is dead for the time being, I suggest that your pilots accompany the Princess Ardala and myself to the Antithesis in exchange for the rest of our crew's lives. They are innocent of any wrongdoings. It is Ardala and myself that you and the Emperor wants."

"I accept your offer. It would be a shame to destroy an expensive superfortress just to get the two of you. The rest of your crew will continue to work on repairs under the watchful eye of my military advisor Ixnay. When you dock, I want my pilots to personally escort you to my bridge. I will await your arrival in twenty minutes."

The screen went blank. Kane turned to face Buck. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Trust me!"

"Hmmmmph," Kane mumbled. "I trust only myself."

"Oh shut up, Kane," Ardala snapped. "I trust Buck with my life."  
"That is exactly what we are trusting him with," Kane glared.

Buck took a deep breath, grinned. "No pressure, right? Princess, do you know how to fly a hatchet fighter?"

"Yes, as long as I don't have to go into battle."

"Good. I'd hate to see you go into battle too."

She smiled. "You really do care, don't you?"

"No, it's not that. If you are as adept at flying a hatchet fighter as you are with shooting a pistol, I don't want to be anywhere near you in a dogfight," he grinned.

"Oh, you're terrible!"

He chuckled as he took her by the arm. "Come along, Princess. We have a date with your sister."

The four hatchet fighters came to a rest before a battalion of heavily armed soldiers. Four officers stepped forward to meet them. They nodded in appreciation the fact Ardala and Kane had their hands braced behind their backs. Buck led them to meet the welcome party and Wilma hobbled after them slowly.

"I present you Princess Ardala and her military advisor Kane," Buck said.

"Very good," said one of the soldiers. "We were sent here to escort them to the bridge to meet Princess Anderia."  
"So was I," Buck agreed. He bobbed his head toward Wilma. "She needs to go to Medical. Commander Kane's men weren't exactly…kind to her."

The leader nodded. He pointed to two other men behind him. "You two escort her to Medical."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Wilma protested lightly. "I know the way."

"Please allow my men to escort you to Medical. Kane and his men will be punished for what they did to you."

Two men stepped forward toward Wilma. Each one wore a holstered pistol on both hips. She exchanged a brief glance with Buck before nodding once. "Thank you."

Buck watched as Wilma limped out of the hangar with the two soldiers. He then waved toward the door at the other side of the hangar. "Well, shall we? We don't want to keep the Princess waiting."

Wilma continued going straight down the corridor, but the two soldiers behind her stopped. "Medical is this way," one said.

She turned around slowly, smiled. She took one step forward and pretended to trip into the two soldiers. On her way past them, she managed to grab a pistol from both soldiers' holster. She quickly brought them up and trained them on their faces.

"I know where Medical is. If you don't do exactly as I say, you are both going to need to go there yourselves. Now walk!"

"Where to?"  
She grinned. Section 4438."

"But that's where the damaged anti-matter reactor is!"

"Really? Isn't that interesting? Now walk!"

"There's two of us and only one of you," one of them said. "Why should we listen to you?"  
She lowered both guns and shot the buckles off of their boots. "Try anything and the next time I won't be aiming for your boots! Now slowly give me your other pistols and start walking."

The four soldiers led Buck, Ardala, and Kane to the bridge. Anderia slowly turned the command chair around to face them when the door opened. The four soldiers stepped to the side of the door, two to either side. Anderia rose and approached Princess Ardala deliberately.

"Hello, Dear Sister. How long as it been?"

"Not long enough," Ardala snapped.

Anderia smiled. "I understand you've been a naughty girl! Father is quite displeased with you. It seems he's after some 'ultimate weapon' and you keep getting in his way. You and this Earthling called Buck."

"Let's just say he and I don't exactly see eye to eye on how to rule the empire anymore," Ardala stated.

"Oh? And when did this happen?"  
She stole a quick glance at Buck. "Not long ago."

Anderia noticed the non verbal communication with Buck. She turned and ambled over to him. "Well aren't you the good looking one," she said with a seductive grin. "Forgive me for not remembering everyone in my crew. What's your name?"

Buck gave the Draconian salute. "Anthony!"

"Anthony? Hmmm. What's your first name?"

"William," he replied.

Anderia shook her head, furrowed her brows. "That's funny. I don't recall a William Anthony in my crew."

He nodded once. "That's because my full name is William Anthony Rogers. My friends call me Buck. Buck Rogers."

Her eyes widened just before Buck grabbed her around the neck with his left arm. In the same motion, he unholstered his pistol and raised it to her head with his right hand. The four soldiers quickly raised their weapons, but Buck managed to turn around to face them with Anderia between them.

"I wouldn't, unless of course you want to kill your princess. What is the penalty for killing a princess of the realm?"

Slowly they lowered their weapons. Kane and Ardala easily 'broke' their braces and moved forward to gather the weapons the soldiers had dropped. Buck smiled at the soldiers. "I really wouldn't try anything now. If Princess Ardala shoots that pistol, no one knows where it's going! Not even her!" He then turned to Anderia. "Now I have some orders for you."

"What do you want?"

"I don't want much. I just want your ship," Buck smirked.

She tried to jerk her head around to look at him. "What?" she asked incredulously.

"You heard me. I want your ship. You will give the order for your crew to abandon ship."

"I will not!"

Buck pressed the gun into her temple. "I wonder what kind of damage this gun would do at this close range. Do you want to find out?"  
She shook her head.

"Okay, let's start out small then. Let's start by clearing the bridge."

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. Buck pressed the gun a little harder into her temple until a flash of pain streaked across her eyes. "Okay, okay! Clear the bridge!"

No one moved.

"That's an order!" she screamed. "Clear the bridge!"

Quickly everyone exited the bridge. The last ones to reluctantly leave were the four soldiers by the door. Eventually they left and the door closed behind them. Once the bridge was cleared, Buck let go of the princess. She took several steps away from Buck before turning around to glare at her sister.

"I'll get you back for this!" she hissed.

Ardala shrugged. "Perhaps, but not today."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Wilma and her two unlucky soldiers entered the abandoned engine room where the damaged reactor was. They both turned to face Wilma.

"I don't think it's safe to be here," one said.

"So why are we here?" the other asked.

"I'm here to blow up the ship," she said without changing facial expressions.

They both smiled and looked at each other briefly until she realized she wasn't joking. "What? Why?"

She waved the gun toward the door. "I suggest you two get out of here and off this ship. In fact, you better tell everyone you see to leave if you don't want to be blown up with it!"  
She pointed to the door. Neither one needed another hint as they sprinted out of the room and down the corridor. Wilma giggled and then locked the door behind them. She then went to the control panel and typed a series of switches and buttons.

The general alarm sounded and Wilma's voice sounded over the bridge's PA system. "This is engineering, main reactor station one! The anti-matter containment unit is deteriorating! The ship is going to explode!"

Anderia rushed to the console on her command chair. "What? This is Princess Anderia! Are you sure?"

"Yes, Princess!" Wilma said excitedly. "I can't stop the reaction! The entire section is being flooded with anti-particles and radiation! And I can't stop it! The anti-matter container has been breached! It's only a matter of time before this whole sector of space explodes!"

"How long do we have?"  
"At least fifteen minutes! I may be able to hold it a little longer, but I can't guarantee it! You must evacuate now! If the matter and the anti-matter combine, this whole sector of space-"

The transmission disconnected. Anderia slapped a button on her console. "This is Princess Anderia. This is an emergency! Abandon ship! I repeat, abandon ship! All hands report to emergency escape pods and shuttles at once! The anti-matter generator has been breached! All hands escape to Remian Four!"

Kane ran to the main door and tried to open it unsuccessfully. "It's locked," he announced fearfully.

"What?" Anderia screamed.

She rushed to the door, but couldn't open it.

"I guess your crew is willing to let you die in here with us," Buck said.

"That doesn't say much for their loyalty to you," Ardala sneered.

Anderia pounded on the door with both fists. "No! This can't be happening to me!" She turned to face Ardala. "At least I can take you with me!"

"What if she uses her command code to override the locks?" Buck asked Kane.

Anderia perked up. "Yes, that might work! Good thinking!"

She rushed to her console and typed in her command code. She then ran back to the door, but still it wouldn't open. Buck shrugged.

"Sorry. It was worth a shot."

Helplessly Buck, Ardala, Anderia, and Kane watched the view screen. Ships by the dozen were leaving from all hangars of the superfortress. Also thousands of one person escape pods could be seen evacuating the ship toward the planet far below. Anderia slumped in her command chair quietly. A full half hour passed in silence on the bridge as they all watched the parade of ships leaving.

"You're being unusually quiet," Anderia finally said to Ardala.

Ardala merely shrugged. "What's left to say?" She stepped up to Buck and slipped her arm inside his. "At least I can die with my man beside me," she grinned.

Anderia turned away. "I'll never understand what you see in a mere Terran."

"That's because you don't know Buck like I do."

"I should have figured you to love a Terran," Anderia sneered. "After all, your military advisor is also a Terran."

Kane turned to face her. "And your point is?"  
Anderia simply folded her arms and slumped in the chair a little further. When the last ship left the hangar, Kane went to the communications section of the bridge. "This is Kane. Commence Operation Seize."

Anderia cocked her head in his direction. "What? What's going on now?"

"You'll see."

At first nothing on the view screen changed. Then suddenly the screen was filled with shuttles and hatchet fighters headed for the Antithesis' landing bays. She looked at Ardala, then at Buck, then at Kane, then back at Ardala. She stood quickly.

"What's going on?"

"We told you we wanted your ship," Buck grinned. "We're fulfilling our wish."

When the last ship landed on the docking bay, the head of the evacuation went to the communications panel in the hangar. "Landing bay to bridge."

"Bridge, Kane here."

"The last ship is on board."

"Very good." He flipped a switch to turn on the shipwide PA system. "This is Kane. All first shift personnel report to your post. Second shift stand down. You will relieve the first shift in six hours. Prepare for jump to hyperspace. We will enter hyperspace in ten minutes."

Anderia sat down and folded her arms. "Not without my access code, you won't be entering hyperspace."

Buck smiled. "We already have your access code. Remember when you tried to open the door?"  
Her eyes widened, then she punched the command chair.

"So what do we do with her?" Buck asked Kane.

"I'll take care of her," Ardala said with a sadistic smile.

"Princess, please leave her to me," Kane interrupted. "I suggest you and Captain Rogers report to Medical."

"Why?"

"Because you underwent that matter-energy transfer. Who knows what it did to you and the captain. As soon as the crew gets on the bridge, I can take the princess to her apartment and place her under house arrest and guard. It's going to take at least twenty-four hours to reach Bertram. I would prefer you and the captain be in the best of health when we get there."

Buck nodded. "That's not a bad idea." He took the princess by the hand. "Come along, Ardala. Let's let Kane take care of her."

"But-"

Buck smiled. "She's not going anywhere. You can have it out with her later."

Ardala hmmmphd. "Fine. This isn't over, Dear Sister."

Anderia didn't respond as Buck and Ardala left the bridge just as the first crew members began to trickle onto the bridge.

The doctor took Buck's blood sample and placed it inside the machine beside the table. "How long is this going to take," Buck asked.

The machine flashed and the monitor lit up. The doctor cocked his head, furrowed his eyebrows. "That's interesting."

"What is it," Buck asked.

He turned to Ardala. "Princess, let me take a blood sample from you."

She held out her arm and allowed him to take some blood. He then took her sample and input it into the same machine. Within seconds, he was checking the results. "Hmmmmmm," he mumbled.

"What is it?" Buck repeated. "What's wrong?"  
The doctor turned to face Ardala again. "You said that you two were held in some kind of matter-energy buffer?"  
"Yes, that's right."

The doctor nodded. "According to my results, Princess, you have some human DNA in you."

"Of course I have human DNA, you dope! I am human!"

"No, I mean Terran DNA. You have some of Captain Roger's DNA inside you. Also, Captain Rogers has some Draconian DNA inside of him."

"So what does that mean?"  
"I'm not entirely sure," the doctor admitted, shrugging. "My best guess is when your bodies rematerialized, some of Princess Ardala's cells rematerialized inside Captain Roger's body and some of Captain Roger's cells rematerialized in Princess Ardala."

Ardala turned to Buck and smiled. "Do you know what this means, Buck?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," Buck muttered.

"It means that a little piece of you will always be inside of me and a little piece of me will always be with you! Isn't that the most romantic thing you've ever heard?"  
Buck grinned sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "I was afraid you were going to say something like that!"


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Kane stood in front of the shuttle ramp and blocked Ardala's path. "Princess, I can not protest enough your participation in this endeavor."

"Your protest has been logged, but it's not going to change my mind. I have no choice but to join Buck on this trip. All of us have played a vital role in this search, including myself."

"The princess is right," Buck agreed. "I hate to say it, but I don't think we can succeed without her or any of us."

"I know," Kane said. "That doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

"Thank you, Kane, but your job is important too. If another superfortress shows up, it's up to you to warn us and protect us."

He sighed heavily. "Very well, Princess."

Kane stepped aside to allow Buck and Ardala to climb the ramp. As they reached the top, Buck turned around. "You could wish us luck."

Kane nodded. "Good luck."

"You'd better get to the bridge," Ardala said. "We'll be coming out of hyperspace soon."

Kane watched as the shuttle ramp closed. He remained behind for a moment before he finally turned and left the hangar.

When he entered the bridge, the helmsman turned slightly. "Leaving hyperspace in fifteen seconds."

"Prepare to release squadrons one through four. We must preoccupy the Bertram forces so they can't track the princess' shuttle."

"Leaving hyperspace… NOW."

"Launch the squadrons. Kane to Princess Shuttle: launch. Comm; give me an open channel to Bertram High Command."

Minar maneuvered the shuttle away from the rest of the squadrons and immediately set course for the southern continent as Wilma followed in her fighter. Soon they were cruising over high, snow-covered mountain peaks and clear, icy lakes. When they neared their destination, Minar pointed to a particular lake in the distance.

"That's it."

He brought the shuttle down and landed it beside the completely frozen lake. Minar left the cockpit and met everyone in the bay area except for Wilma. "This is the lake with the buried pyramid. We have known about the pyramid for a very long time, for centuries, but we could never figure out how to get inside without flooding it, so we pretty much gave up trying. There is a cave just to the east of the lake that's been explored, but nothing was ever found."

"That's going to change this time," Buck said as he zipped up his jacket. He hesitated by the cargo door. "I've had enough snow and cold for a long time."

Ardala put her arm around his back. "It's alright, Darling," she said with a seductive smile. "I'll warm you up when we get back!"

He looked around at all the faces. "Everyone ready?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: it's colder out there than a witches-"

"Twiki!" Buck said sternly. "Come on."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

"This is exciting," Buffin said. "I can hardly wait!"

"I didn't know there was a pyramid here," Biron said gleefully.

"Yeah, it's not something we advertise on the travel brochures," Minar said sarcastically.

Buck grinned. "Minar, you've been hanging around me too much!"

Minar smiled in return as he placed the hood over his head. "Well it's not getting any warmer out there."  
Buck nodded. "You're right. Let's go; we're burning daylight."

When they left the shuttle, Wilma met them at the bottom of the ramp. Minar pointed to a mountain on the east side of the lake and then headed in that direction. They walked the rocky lake shoreline for half an hour before they could see the cave entrance cut into the side of the mountain, almost directly on the lake. Minar entered the cave first. The tunnel sloped down for a hundred yards before leveling out and becoming a large cavern. Buck unzipped his jacket and removed his hood.

"Feels alright in here!"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: this is more like it."

"This is the farthest any of us have ever been," Minar said. "The theory is that there is something in here that connects with the pyramid, but it's never been found."

"What if we tried the medallion?" Theo asked.

"It's worth a shot. Go for it, Buffin."

The old man pulled out both medallions from his coat and began reading the first, and then the second. Nothing happened. Buck shrugged.

"I guess we have to do this the old fashioned way," Buck said.

They all spread out and started searching the walls, floor, ceiling, and rocks for any kind of hint on a possible path to go further into the mountain. Nearly an hour passed before anyone spoke.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: BUCK!"

He ran toward the back of the cavern to where Twiki was standing. The droid pointed to a small, round indentation carved into the wall. He slapped Twiki on the shoulder. "I think you found something, Little Buddy!"

"There seems to be some writing inside the circle," Theo said.

"What's it say?"  
"Only one word: green."

"Green? There is no green on this planet! It's all ice!"

Everyone rushed up to see the circular indentation in the wall that Twiki had found. "What if it's not a color?" Wilma asked.

"Then what else would it be?" Theo asked.

"Maybe it's telling us which medallion to use!"

"Exactly! Buffin, do your thing!"

Buffin stepped forward and inserted the new medallion into the indentation. It fit perfectly. The medallion began to glow a pale green. Suddenly a rectangular patch of the wall also began to glow, then blink. In seconds that patch of the wall seemed to disappear, revealing another tunnel on the other side. Buck smiled broadly. "In we go!"

They followed the tunnel as it continued to slope downward, and turn in a slow arc. Soon the tunnel opened up into another large cavern where they found another round indentation on the far, back wall. They placed the original medallion in the wall which opened into another tunnel. They followed this tunnel for an hour as it continued to slope down. After a while, Buck stopped and did a quick calculation in his head.

"Theo, where do you think we are?" he asked.

"I believe we are directly under the lake," the computer replied.

Buck nodded. "Yeah, I thought so too."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep: Beep-be-de-de-beep:"

"Now Twiki, don't talk like that."

"What did he say?" Wilma asked.

"He was wondering how long these walls have been holding this lake water, and asking what would happen if they suddenly gave way."

Buck shrugged one shoulder. "It would be a good way to keep visitors out."

Ardala slapped him on his arm gently.

"What?" he asked innocently. "It would be!"

They continued to walk for another twenty minutes before the tunnel suddenly brightened and ended. On all three walls was a giant 'picture window'. They all simply stared out in amazement at the awesome sight. They stared out at the crystal blue water surrounding them.

"Buck!" Minar said.

Out the front window stood a massive pyramid. They appeared to be about two-thirds of the way down the side of the pyramid, similar to the distance the landing bay was on the moon temple. Buck tried to look up, but couldn't see the top of the pyramid.

"What kind of engineering feat!" Theo marveled.

Minar lightly tapped on the window. "Don't do that!" Ardala nearly screamed.

"Relax," Minar said. "It's transparent rock! It's one of the ores we mine here. It's actually stronger than steel, when processed right."

Wilma ran her hands against the window. "Really? This is fantastic!"

"Well we found the pyramid," Biron started. "But how do we get across? Swim?"

"He's right," Buffin agreed. "And we don't have the medallions anymore."

Buck backed up from the front window and looked around for a moment. "Hey, there's some writing on the wall here."

Beside the window where the wall was solid again was an inscription on both sides of the transparent ore. Buffin stepped up to one side and Theo had Twiki take the other side. They studied the writing for a moment.

"This side says: Only the lovers may enter or exit," Theo announced.

Buffin nodded in agreement. "Same here." He read the inscription in its original language. Two glyphs appeared on the wall, one on either side.

"Only the lovers may pass?" Buck asked.

Wilma stepped up and tapped him on the shoulder. "I guess we know who that means!" she said with a slight hint of sarcasm.

Ardala took Buck's hand and smiled. "I guess that means us!"

Buck looked around at everyone. "But what if we need to translate something in there? I can't read this ancient writing, and neither can the princess."

"Perhaps I can tag along," Theo offered.

"That's a good idea," Wilma agreed.

She disconnected Theo from around Twiki's neck and handed him to Buck. She placed the computer inside Buck's hood, then patted him on the back. "Good luck, Buck."

"Yes, good luck," Biron said. "I wish I could go inside."  
"I don't know about this," Buck hesitated.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: you can do it, Buck."

He patted Twiki on the head. "Thanks." He glanced at Ardala. "Well, are you ready?"

She nodded and pressed her hand to the right glyph. Buck pressed his hand against the left glyph, but nothing happened. He looked back at Wilma who simply shrugged. Ardala reached out her free hand to Buck. Hesitantly he raised his hand to meet hers.

Suddenly the glyphs began to glow a bright green. Buck and Ardala absorbed the green light for only a brief moment before they both disappeared. A loud crash sounded just to the left of the window. Wilma quickly raced forward to pick up Doctor Theopolis from the floor.

"I guess they're on their own," she whispered softly.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: good luck, Buck."


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Buck and Ardala materialized mere inches away from the outer wall of the pyramid. Buck reached behind his head and realized Theo hadn't made the trip with them. He swore silently to himself. "I hope we don't need to translate anything!"

He checked his hip and breathed a small sigh of relief. "At least I still have my gun."

Ardala checked her hip too. "Me too. Just hope we don't need them," she said.

Buck merely nodded. He turned around to see the glowing glyphs on the wall. "Well here's how we get out when we need to."

"I just hope they stay there until we need them."

Buck turned to glance at the princess. "You're just oozing with confidence, aren't you?"

"Sorry."

He waved his head toward the corridor leading away from the glyphs. He took her hand and squeezed. "Shall we?"

They walked down the gently sloping corridor for about a hundred yards before it opened into a large chamber. In the center of the room stood an altar which was surrounded by a water filled moat. They followed the spiral path around the room to the short bridge across the moat. Cautiously they stepped up onto the platform holding the altar. Two glowing, green glyphs appeared on the altar. They exchanged unsure glances before finally touching the two glyphs on the altar.

Right in front of them on the other side of the altar appeared a hologram of an old man dressed in royal clothing. "Welcome daughter of Knilong, son of Gahan."

Buck and Ardala exchanged looks again. "Huh?"

"You have done well to get to this temple," the hologram continued. "I'm sure you have many questions, but please allow me to tell you a story first. A long time ago there lived a maiden who was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, possibly the universe. Her name was Knilong. I'm sure you think you know the story, but it's probably slightly different from the one you know. She lived on a beautiful planet, which you are already familiar with. I don't know what the name of the planet is now, but I'm sure you're familiar with it. It's where you found the first medallion. Anyway, back to Knilong. She had many suitors among all the planets of the known galaxy, but she only had eyes for one, a young peasant boy from a neighboring but enemy planet. They met by accident, but they quickly fell in love. When her father found out he took the princess and locked her away in an impenetrable mountain palace and sentenced her to seven years exile. She was alone in the palace except for many dwarves who served as her captors and guards. When Gahan realized what had happened, he spent a couple years just trying to find out enough information on where the princess had been taken.

"The palace was impossible to reach except by airship. And the only person with the access code to the force shield surrounding the palace was the king himself. Gahan's only recourse was to try to climb the impossible mountain to rescue the princess. After many trials, he was finally able to reach the peak. He snuck into the palace to rescue the princess. But one of the dwarves found out and got word to the king who came in his airship to confront him. He caught them attempting to escape and threatened to kill Gahan. Knilong rushed up to the king to plead for Gahan's life, but she bumped into the king and knocked him off balance. The king fell off the balcony and plummeted to his death on the rocks three miles below the palace. Knilong and Gahan then took the king's ship back to the main palace where they married. The marriage ended the feud between their two planets and they lived in peace for many years.

"Knilong was a very merciful and loving queen. But in a moment of weakness and rage, she never got over the fact the dwarves held her for so long in captivity. Therefore she had every single dwarf hunted down and removed them from her realm by banishing them to a planet of ice and snow, the planet on which you now stand. She then had this pyramid constructed to house a record of her deeds and accomplishments and the knowledge of which you now seek. To protect this temple from falling into the wrong hands, it was constructed on an island which was then purposefully sunk once the temple was complete. She chose this site because the lake would help protect the temple, since it is completely frozen over sixteen months out of the year.

"I know that this is probably a little different from the story you know, but I can promise you that this is the true story. I know because… I am Gahan. The fact that you are here looking for this 'ultimate weapon' tells me that the galaxy has once again fallen into chaos. My only hope is that you use the knowledge gained here to restore peace once more to the galaxy. I have the utmost faith in you. Use the power here wisely and rule with mercy and grace, as Knilong did thousands of years ago. Farewell, my children. And may you rule in peace as your ancestors of long ago."

The hologram faded into nothing. Buck started to say something, when another hologram began to appear. This time it was a younger looking man.

"Is this thing recording? It is? Okay. Oh, sorry. My name is Nigellian. I felt like I had to update you on some things that have happened from the time Gahan left his message. Three thousand years have passed from the time of Gahan and his queen Knilong. Their legacy has been a long one, but things have begun to break down. Shortly after Gahan's death, Knilong moved to center of power from the planet of her birth to this planet. I don't know what name it has now, so I'll use this star chart."

He raised up a map and pointed to a particular star system. Ardala's eyes widened. "That's Draconia!" she exclaimed.

"This planet is where her descendents ruled from for the thousands of years after his death. For most of this time there was peace and prosperity throughout the galaxy. However, I suppose nothing ever lasts.

"About five hundred years ago things began to fall apart. The royal houses of nobles began to abuse the outer colonies. The royal houses competed with each other in many things, including possessions and of all things, slaves. An underground movement began to undermine the noble houses. It began slowly, but eventually became a large movement that the nobles could no longer ignore. It took about five hundred years to become strong enough to openly fight back against the nobles. The movement was led by an ex noble named Adomalovus. Under his leadership, many of the nobles fell from power and several even lost their lives. The realm fell into a civil war where there were many atrocities on both sides. Finally the king and queen's guard managed to capture Adomalovus and his followers and they banished them to a faraway planet on the edge of the galaxy. Before the king's guard left, however, the rebels underwent a process known as 'purging'. That's when their memories were erased. They were dumped off on this planet unceremoniously. To ensure that they couldn't rejoin the realm any time soon and to ensure that no one could find them, the stargate to this star system was disabled. The idea was that it would take them many centuries before they could progress to space travel and rejoin the galactic races. There was also a theory that these people contained a gene for rebellion and violence and that they may simply destroy themselves before they could become space faring again. That way the king and queen could look merciful by not committing mass genocide. They then regained their power and everything pretty much returned to the status quo. I came here to gain the power and the knowledge of the ancients and to fight for my people, but unfortunately I became stranded here. I can only imagine the fate of the galaxy now.

"I copy Gahan's sentiment. I hope you are more successful than I was in gaining this power to make a better galaxy. If you do, I hope you rule with knowledge and wisdom, not just power and greed. Power and greed is what brought this galaxy to its knees. Only wisdom and knowledge can restore it. I wish you luck."

The hologram faded into nothingness. Behind it a door slowly slid open to reveal another passage way. Buck took a deep breath, turned to face the princess. "This must be it! Are you ready?"

She nodded once. "Let's go."

Wilma turned around and cocked her head to one side. "Twiki, do you hear something?"  
Just then a squadron of heavily armed Draconian soldiers poured into the small room. A man from the back of the squadron stepped through the crowd, followed by a much younger woman. The old man looked around the room.

"Where's Rogers and my daughter?"

Buffin instantly kneeled to the floor. "Emperor Draco!"

Biron stared at the younger woman. "You killed my sister!" he hissed.

Rapel smiled at him and raised her gun to his chin. "Today's your lucky day! The emperor doesn't need you dead anymore!'

Draco turned to Wilma. "You, Earthling! Where is Captain Rogers?"

Her eyes averted toward the pyramid in the water. He followed her gaze through the window. He stepped up to the window to stare incredulously at the underwater temple. He turned back around. "How did he get across?"

Rapel stepped up to inspect the inscription on the wall. She turned to Biron. "What does this say?"

No one said a word. She sighed and then shot Biron in the chest. "I guess it wasn't your lucky day."

She turned to Buffin. "What does it say? And I won't repeat myself again."

"The inscription says, 'Only the lovers may pass,'" Theo said.

Rapel and Draco looked at each other and smiled. "Is that so?"

"Wait a minute," Wilma said. "How'd you find us?"

Rapel smiled. "I put a homing tracer inside your little droid."

""Beep-be-de-de-beep: I've been violated!"

Rapel simply laughed as she stepped up to one of the glyphs on the wall. Draco stepped up to the other one. Each one touched a glyph and then disappeared from the room.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: look out, Buck!"


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

"Commander Kane! Subspace disturbance! It's another superfortress!"

"Comm; get word to the Princess' party!"

"Sir, I can't get through! We're being jammed!"

"Commander; the superfortress; it's the Draconia!"

Kane's eyes widened. "What? The Emperor's ship? This isn't good."

Buck jumped off the platform and headed for the new opening. "Buck, wait up," Ardala said as she turned toward the bridge across the moat. Suddenly a blue laser shot through the air and hit the wall above Buck's head. He whirled around to see Emperor Draco and Rapel coming down the path. He reached for his pistol, but Rapel was too quick for him.

"That's far enough, both of you," Draco announced loudly. The contents of this pyramid belong to me and the Empire of Draconia."

Rapel stepped up to Buck and eased his pistol from its holster while Draco held his own pistol toward his head. She ran her fingers across his chest slowly and smiled.

"Too bad you had to be on the wrong side," she said softly. "I really did like you, Buck!"

"Enough!" Draco bellowed. He turned to face his daughter still standing on the platform. "Ardala, you disappoint me. Aligning yourself with a foreigner is bad enough, but to align with an Earthling to overthrow me? That is something I can not forgive."

"Father, I'm not trying to overthrow you!"

"Then what do you call it? You are standing in my way of getting this weapon."

"Because you don't need it!" she cried. "You have already enslaved three fourths of the galaxy! I can't allow you to continue to rule as you have! Entire worlds hate us, hate me, just because of who we are, who you are! What you are doing is wrong, and someone has to stop you!"

"What I've done is wrong? I've conquered three fourths of the galaxy! I have the biggest empire the galaxy has ever seen!"

"At what price?" Buck asked. "You've murdered billions of innocent people. You've extinguished entire races and civilizations. Destroyed entire planets! It's time somebody stands against you."

"And you think you can stop me? A descendent of Adomalovus?"

Buck's eyes widened beyond belief. "What?"

"Oh, haven't you figured it out yet?"

"Are you trying to say that Earth is nothing but a Draconian penal colony?"

Draco laughed maniacally. "You've figured it out! Bravo!"

"Is that why you've been trying to destroy Earth?" Buck asked hesitantly.

"I need to finish what my ancestors started!"

"I don't understand, Father! Why destroy Earth?"

"Our ancestors were too scared to destroy their enemies. But I'm not!"

"So you add the death of another planet to your resume?" Buck asked.

"Unless you think you can stop me." He turned to Ardala. "Can you?"  
"Yes! Buck and I will stop you."

Draco shook his head, then the gun. "I don't see how. I am armed and you are not. I am about to obtain the ultimate weapon that sits inside this pyramid. Ardala, my daughter. Do you still plan on getting in my way of obtaining this weapon?"

She stood tall and nodded. "I am not afraid of you anymore!"

"You should be," he sneered. He raised his weapon toward Buck slowly. "Ardala, are you watching? I am about to kill your lover and collaborator. Once the elusive Captain Rogers is dead, he will no longer be a cancer to you or to me. You can then return to your place on my right hand as heir to my empire, after you have been… retrained, of course."

Rapel gave Buck a kiss on the cheek, then stepped to the side. "Goodbye, Captain Buck Rogers," she said softly.

In one motion Ardala unholstered her pistol and fired at her father just as he released his trigger. The laser pierced right through the old man's chest and he fell to the floor. Buck instinctively ducked as Draco's laser fire shot three feet over his head. Rapel dropped Buck's gun and raced to the old man's side.

"Draco!" she cried. "NO!"

Buck picked up his pistol and deliberately walked up the spiral path to the altar where Ardala stood in a state of shock. He slowly took her pistol from her death grip.

"Wh-what have I done?" she stammered.

"You've murdered your own father!" Rapel screamed. "You've killed the best ruler the galaxy has ever known!"

"I…I wasn't… trying to…"

Draco's eyes fluttered and focused on Buck and Ardala. "You! I'll be damned to hell if I let you ruin my empire!"

"Depending on who you ask, you're already damned to hell," Buck replied coldly.

Draco grabbed Rapel's gun and tried to aim it at Buck. In a quick instant, Buck drew his pistol from its holster and shot the pistol from the old man's hand. The pistol went flying against the nearby wall.

"Give it up, old man. Your reign of terror is over."

"Never!" He tapped a hidden transceiver near his ear. "This is… Draco! Fire all lasers at the target!" He turned to Buck. "If I can't have this weapon… no one gets it!"

"Commander Kane! The Draconia is powering up its lasers!"

"Fortify shields!"

"They're firing!"

"Brace for impact!"

The laser flew right past the ship. Kane looked up at the screen. "They missed?"  
"No! They're firing at a point on the planet. They're firing at the temple!"

The temple rocked slightly. Suddenly the altar began to glow a reddish color. Buck looked at it briefly before grasping Ardala by the arm. He pushed her across the bridge and then jumped across the moat himself. The entire altar glowed a bright red. Seconds later a giant laser shot out from the altar toward the ceiling.

"Sir! Laser coming from the planet!"

"Helm, get us out of the way!"

The laser passed the Antithesis and struck the side of the Draconia. The superfortress began to glow a pale red as the shields tried to deflect the massive laser. Within seconds, the shields failed and seconds later, the entire superfortress exploded in a supernova burst of light.

"NO!" Draco screamed.

The altar stopped glowing and quickly returned to normal. Buck stepped up the dying old man. "There's your ultimate weapon," he said. "Too bad it backfired against you."

He reached out a hand and pulled Rapel to her feet. "Ardala, you watch after your father. You, come with me."

Reluctantly Rapel let Buck drag her down the path and into the new passageway. They walked down the path for only a brief minute before entering another chamber. The room was filled with shelf after shelf of books. The circular walls were lined with bookshelves. Nearly every square inch of the room was filled with bookshelves separated by narrow paths between them. Buck glanced at Rapel and shook his head.

"There's your ultimate weapon," he pointed to the interior of the room. "Knowledge. It's a library. Knowledge is the ultimate power."

Rapel tiptoed into the room. "Is this a joke?"

Buck shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I'm heading back."

He returned to the inner chamber where Ardala was kneeling over her father. Tears poured from her eyes onto the still body. She looked up at Buck and sobbed. He reached a hand down and she accepted it. He pulled her up. She wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face into his chest.

"What have I done?" she sobbed.

He sympathetically ran his fingers through her hair. "Come on. Let's go."

"What about the weapon?" she asked.

He shook his head. "It's a library. We can come back later."

Slowly they headed back up the path toward the exit. Just as they were about to place their hands on the glyphs, Rapel ran up the path to meet them.

"Hey, what about me? You're not going to leave me here, are you?"

"Sorry," Buck shook his head. "I can't help you."

"And don't look at me," Ardala sobbed.

They placed their hands on the glyphs and quickly disappeared. "NO!!!!!!!!!!!" Rapel screamed.

Buck and Ardala rematerialized to find the Draconian soldiers holding Wilma and the others captive. They raised their weapons toward Buck and Ardala. She stepped forward and raised her hand firmly.

"Emperor Draco is dead," she announced. "The rule of the Empire now falls to me, Princess Ardala. As your new Empress, I order you to stand down and retreat to the Antithesis."

"But we're stationed on the Draconia," the squad leader argued.

"The Draconia has been destroyed. Stand down now. I command you."

One by one the Draconian soldiers laid down their weapons at their feet. Ardala nodded once, then turned to Buck. "Let's get out of here. I need to… I just need to go."

Buck nodded knowingly. "Of course. Come on, everyone. Let's go home."


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Ardala sat on the edge of the bed pensively. Buck slowly crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

She paused for a moment before nodding once. "Remember when I told you that I had run every scenario in my head about the conclusion of this hunt?"

"Yeah."

She hesitated again, then lowered her head and eyes. "I didn't."

Buck placed his arm around her shoulders. "I know it's hard, killing your own father."

She looked up into Buck's eyes. "I had a choice, you know? It was either him… or you. Something inside my head and inside my heart told me what to do."

"I'm sorry you have to live with the guilt of killing your father… but inside I'm really glad you chose me."

"Two weeks ago I don't know if I would have."

Buck nodded. "You have definitely changed in the past week, Princess." She looked at him. "Sorry; Empress!"

"I think I've grown up," she admitted.

Buck grinned slightly. "I like it!"

"Really?" she said hopefully.  
"Yeah. I like what you've become. I truly believe you will become an excellent queen, or empress, or whatever they call you."

She shook her head. "I don't know. I still need help; a lot of help. I want you to stay with me, Buck. I need you to stay with me."

"Is that an order from the empress?"

She shook her head again. "No. It's… a request from someone who loves you."

Buck shrugged. "I don't know if I'm cut out to be royalty."

"You don't have to be royalty," she offered. "You can stay how you are right now. I just… need you by my side. I need your wisdom, your judgment, your sense of justice, your guidance,…"

"My body," Buck added.

Ardala grinned like a school girl. "Yes, there's that too!"

"I don't know. All that palace living, royal balls, dealing with nobles…. I might lose my boyish figure."

Ardala lowered her eyes and turned partially away. "Buck," she said so softly that he almost didn't hear. "I…please tell me something."

"What?" he asked in the same low hush.

She turned to look deeply into his eyes. A single teardrop formed in her eye and dropped onto her cheek. "What do I have to do to put a hole in that wall of yours?"

Gently Buck raised his hand to remove the tear as another one formed. He grinned at her sincerely. "Believe it or not… you already have."

Her face brightened. "Really?"

He tried to look away but she held his face with her hand. "Yeah. I told you I liked the change I've seen in you. You no longer are the spoiled little princess who is determined to get her way. Now you are a woman who knows what she wants… and is willing to fight for it."

"And you like that?"  
He nodded, grinned. "Having a beautiful woman fighting for my life and affections? Who wouldn't appreciate that?"  
"It's not an act."

"I know. But I don't know if I'm ready to settle down, yet."

"So you're not going to stay with me." It was not a question.

He shook his head. "Sorry. I can't. At least not yet."

She looked up hopefully. "Well that sounds more promising than usual!"

"Yeah, I guess it does."

"So what will you do?"

"I don't know. I've got things to take care of before I can even think about settling down."

Ardala sighed heavily. "Running away again?"  
Buck hesitated to think for a moment. "No, I don't think so. Not this time. Although you may have been right back on Remian. I do have a lot of memories that haunt me when I let them."

Ardala grinned seductively. "We can make a lot of new memories to help with that?"

Buck chuckled. "Yes, we could. Don't get me wrong, Princess, uh I mean Empress. The thought of… making memories with you is definitely intriguing. But I'm just not ready yet. I met a wise man once who gave me a piece of advice. He told me that I carry with me a great deal of sorrow. He said that I carry with me unfairly placed blame for my past, and if I don't deal with it somehow, it'll eat me up inside."

"That bartender on Remian?"

Buck's eyes widened. "How'd you know?"

She smiled. "I'm not as stupid or naïve as you think I am. I knew you two were talking about some heavy duty stuff. What else did he say?"

"He said life is short. He said if I don't deal with my self-placed blame, it'll eat me up and make me a bitter old man who loses everything."

"Did he say anything about me?"

Buck cocked his head to one side. "No, I don't think so."

She smirked. "You liar."

"Okay, maybe we mentioned you once or twice."

"Did he tell you that I would be willing to give up my throne for you?"

Buck was taken aback. "Do you have super hearing or what?"

She didn't smile. "I would, you know."

"Would what?"

"Give up my throne… for you. I would give up everything just to be with you, Buck. We could find a quiet little planet, live on an island somewhere a million miles away from everything and everyone. Just you and me and the stars above us."

"As tempting as that sounds, I could never ask you to give up the throne of Draconia for me."

"You wouldn't have to ask."

"Yeah, I know. But I've seen who the next in line is after you. I really don't want to see your sister on the throne."

Ardala nodded knowingly. "Yes, you are right. Anderia is too much like my father. I just can't stand seeing you go. Will you at least come to my coronation?"

"When?"

"It'll take about a month to organize. I'd really love to have you there by my side, if just for the day."

Buck smiled, nodded. "I wouldn't miss it for the universe."

Ardala smiled broadly. "Did your wise man say how long it would take for you to find yourself?"

Buck shook his head.

"Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

She paused for a moment. "Don't take too long. Remember what I told you earlier. When I become Empress, I have only one year to marry the man of my choice or lose my throne. And you already said you don't want my sister to become empress. And I've already made my choice of men."

"I'll see what I can do."

Buck stood up. "I'd better get going. If I don't leave now, I may never leave."

Ardala quickly stood up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and passionately kissed him. When their lips parted, she smiled.

"I have something to give you before you go."

"As long as it's not a shrinking necklace!"  
"No, it's not," she giggled. She went to one of her dressers and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a small box and returned to Buck. She handed the box to him. Buck opened it and smiled as he pulled it out.

"Hey, great!" he said sarcastically. "You gave me a gold watch!"

"This is a subspace communicator," she explained. "This will give you unparalleled access to me anytime you want, day or night. All you have to do is touch this button and start talking. Anytime you need my help… or if you just want to talk, you can use this. And I have one too, so anytime I need help, I can contact you… as long as you have your communicator with you."

Buck immediately placed it on his wrist. "I'll never take it off. Is it waterproof?"

"Absolutely."

Buck gently kissed Ardala. "Thank you. I better be going."  
She nodded sadly. "I know. I'll miss you."

"I'll be back."

"Promise?"

He paused a moment before nodding and grinning. "Promise."

He turned to leave. Just as the door opened, he turned around. She waved once. "I love you Buck."

"I know."

She shook her head. "You just can't bring yourself to say it, can you? Or to admit it to yourself, can you?"

He smiled. "See you around, Empress Ardala."

The door closed. Buck lowered his eyes and head. "No, Princess. I can't admit it to myself just yet. You were right. I… maybe I am just running away."

He started down the hallway when all of a sudden he heard, "Beep-be-de-de-beep."

He turned to see Twiki running toward him. He waited for the droid to catch up before heading toward the hangar.

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I was afraid you were going to stay."

Buck tapped him on the head. "If I did, you'd stay with me, Little Buddy."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: YAY!"

"What do you say we go home?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I call the window seat!"

Buck laughed to himself. "You can have it, Little Buddy." He turned to take one last long look at Ardala's door. "Let's go home."

THE END


End file.
